Beyond the Mask
by flanny-chan
Summary: Most call the work that is "The Phantom of the Opera" fiction, but what happens when a young man born with the same condition as "Erik" leaves his home for the first time after being hidden from the world by his mother his entire life? Read to find out!
1. Prologue

The doors of the hospital room burst open, and Melinda was rolled in on a wheelchair. She was in labor, and was quickly helped onto the hospital bed by her nurses. Melinda's sister, Carrie, hurried into the room and stood by her sister, who was sobbing with pain. 18-year-old Carrie felt pity for her sister, who had just lost her husband Matthew in a freak car accident 5 months before. Carrie had moved in with Melinda within weeks of Matthews death, and was going to help with the baby for as long as needed.

"Push!"

Melinda pushed, her teeth clenched, with all her might. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and she was squeezing poor Carrie's hand as hard as she could. The doctor ordered a few more pushes.

"I see a head!"

"Uh oh, the skin color looks off..."

"Keep pushing!"

Carrie could sense the worry in the doctor and nurses voices, but she tried to stay calm, for Melinda's sake.

"Just one more!"

Melinda screamed, and finally it was over. Besides her gasps of relief and the sound of the doctors shuffling about, the room had become eerily quiet, and Carrie took notice.

"Oh no," she thought, "He can't die, he just can't!"

The doctor was whispering to the nurses, some whose hands were covering their mouths in shock. Carrie felt like she was about to cry, until she heard a sound. She didn't know what it was at first, but then she recognized it - whimpering.

She sighed with relief, and looked over at Melinda, who had evidently heard the small sound and was smiling proudly. The doctor walked over with a small bundle in his arms, looking a bit unsure of himself.

"May I please see my baby?" Melinda asked, holding out her hands.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Of course, ma'am. Congratulations on your healthy baby boy."

Melinda was about to take her son in her arms, but when she caught sight of him, she recoiled in horror.

His skin was a pale, greenish-yellow, and he had dark rings beneath his closed eyes as if he hadn't slept. He had no nose to speak of, only a couple of small openings, like a skeleton. He had pin-straight, jet black hair, more than usual for a newborn, and when he opened his sunken eyes, two bright yellow irises, almost glowing, stared at the gaping nurses and at the doctor holding him. He looked at his bewildered mother, and to the surprise of everyone in the room, reached his little arms out in her direction. Melinda stared for a moment, then looked away, hiding tears.

"Wouldn't you like to hold him?" asked the doctor, although he could understand why she didn't.

Melinda was silent, not looking at anyone.

Carrie cleared her throat. "I'll take him."

The doctor gently handed the baby over to the new aunt, looking uncomfortable.

"I'll go get the birth certificate," he stated, then walked swiftly away.

Carrie looked down at her nephew, and he looked at her. Then, to her surprise, he smiled. She never had heard of a baby that smiled the day of his birth. At that moment, she somehow knew that this baby in her arms was special.

She walked over to her sister. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked.

Melinda remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.

Carrie was not sure of what she was seeing. "I said, would you like to hold your son?"

Melinda, again, shook her head, not even looking at her sister.

Carrie was in disbelief. "Do you mean to say that you don't want to hold your newborn baby boy...just because he looks different? He is your son, Melinda! How can you just reject him like this?"

Melinda gave no response, and Carrie's temper flared.

"Is this the kind of mother you want to be? Huh? I thought becoming a mother would change you, Melinda; I thought that maybe you'd think of someone besides yourself for once! If Matthew were still alive...!"

Carrie stopped. She realized that she had gone too far. Melinda had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry, Linda," Carrie began," It's just...He's your son. Hundreds of people in the world have babies with rare medical conditions. He's just a little different. You should be thankful his condition doesn't seem to affect his health..."

Melinda finally looked at her sister with bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry, Carrie," Melinda said quietly," I just...this can't be my son...he's supposed to be perfect...he's supposed to...to look normal and...and..." she choked up.

Carrie was about to say something, but the doctor entered the room.

"Here's the certificate," he said, " all ready to go. So what's the little fellow gonna be called?"

Carrie looked at Melinda. "Well, is he gonna have his daddy's name?"

Melinda's eyes narrowed "...No...he can have that other name you suggested..."

Carrie felt her temper rising, but didn't say anything to her sister.

"Jason," she told the doctor,"Jason Matthew."

She glanced at Melinda to see if she reacted to the sound of her deceased husband's name, but she was silent.

[_fifteen years later_]

"Mother?"

15 year old Jason peeked into the kitchen where Melinda sat reading the Sunday news.

"Yes, Jason?" she said, not moving her eyes from the article she was reading.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

Sighing, Melinda carefully laid the paper on the counter and patted the bar stool next to her. Hesitating, Jason walked over to the stool and sat down, wringing his hands. He had wanted to talk to his mother for awhile now, about the whole "never leaving the house" thing, but he had been scared that she would get angry, which would really dampen his chances of getting a taste of the world outside his home. He understood why his mother didn't want him leaving, and honestly he felt the same fear she did - that he would be criticized and jeered at for his unusual deformity. But ever since his aunt Carrie had left and had finally gotten her own house, Jason began to feel a little empty. He had everything he needed to be content - his music, his instruments, his copy of Book of Optical Illusions that had belonged to his father - everything but a person to share these things with. Melinda was always away at work all day, and Jason could tell she was never that interested in spending time with him; he had grown used to that and thought it as normal. Carrie, on the other hand, had always spent time with him, even from the time he was first born. She loved listening to his compositions and watching the new magic tricks he had taught himself. Now that she was gone, and only came once in a while due to her irregular hours as a nurse, he was restless.

"What would you like to talk about?" Melinda said. She looked as though she wasn't paying attention, but Jason knew that she was. She was that kind of person… the one who never really liked to make eye contact, but could hear and understand every word you say to her…she especially did this with him.

"Well…." Jason swallowed, "I…I've wanted to ask you for awhile now, but…" he stopped, trying to search for the right words.

"Yes?" Melinda said. Her tone of voice had the slightest hint of impatience.

Jason swallowed again. Had it suddenly gotten warmer in the kitchen?

"Mother…." he began, "Why can't I go outside?"

Melinda stiffened. "Oh no..." Jason panicked.

"I-I mean, I know why I can't, but…;Well, there has to be other people with unsightly physical birth effects, right? I mean, I- I'm most certainly not the only one! N-not that I can't be the first of this deformity. I-I mean it has to start somewhere, but…"

"Jason," Melinda said, her icy blue eyes suddenly meeting his yellow ones, stopping him cold, "You are right about one thing; there are hundreds, if not thousands of people in the world born with physical deformities, as well as mental, too, but…" she paused, "The ones with the really severe and unique defects, the ones that can't help but be noticed and not be ignored, are the ones that end up swarmed by cameras that broadcast them all over the world for people to laugh at and/or sneer at. Some of these poor people end up with TV shows showing their everyday lives, treating them like some sort of animal being studied. Cameras follow them everywhere, and they don't get a moment's peace or privacy; their precious moments and the moments meant to be personal are shown to the whole world. What's worse is that you are told to do what the TV company wants you to do just to please the general public to give them what they want to see. When you were born, someone had contacted a TV crew to put you on the news, but Carrie and I had hidden you from them, and said that it was a misunderstanding, and that someone must have played a joke. I didn't want you to grow up having your life played out into a TV series; I wanted you to be you."

She gently took his hand, still staring into his eyes. Jason stared back, amazed at their intensity.

"Promise me, Jason," Melinda said, giving his hand a squeeze, "that you'll never bring this up again, ever. Will you do that for me?"

Jason lowered his eyes to the floor, and then nodded. Melinda removed her hand from his and picked up the newspaper.

"Mother?"

Melinda looked up.

"I'm sorry."

Melinda smiled at him, and then began to read from where she left off.

Jason turned, walked through the arched doorway of the kitchen and into the large living room, thinking about the conversation that just taken place. He had said he was sorry. Did he mean it? No, he didn't. He had lied to his mother.

He had lied to her for the very first time.

Did it feel good? No. Did it feel horrible? Again, no. The lie really had no meaning to it. It was meant to be a sort of finale to the conversation, as if to say "We will never speak of it again." In fact, there was some truth to his small bluff. He was sorry for making things uncomfortable by bringing up the subject, but he was not sorry to talk about it, to understand fully his situation that he had put off as normal for so long. This life wasn't normal. According to his mother, his life would never be normal if he went outside. But is it normal while I'm inside? Is it normal to be cooped up all day long, the only fresh air to be inhaled coming from an open vent in the basement where his room was? He had been able to read since he was four, and of all the books he's read in the time that he wasn't making music or performing magical feats, not one had had a character living day in and day out inside, never once going outside to enjoy the sunshine, to run through a sprinkler in bare feet in a hot summer's day, to feel the thrill of sliding down a snow-covered hill on a sled ad feeling the crisp air nip at your nose…or in Jason's case, his cheeks.

Jason slowly made his way down the basement steps and into his bedroom, where he closed the door and collapsed on the bed. He didn't think he had ever felt as emotionally exhausted and restless as he did now. He glanced over at the one small window he had. His mother ordered him never to take down the curtains that had been draped over the window and stapled to the wall. What was the view of outside from down here? The only time he had ever disobeyed his mother was when she had told him never to even look outside. He had occasionally sneaked upstairs to the attic and peeked through the dusty window that was up there and into the streets below. In the spring and summer, he would see children riding their bikes. He was too far up to see their faces, but he could see that they had "normal" skin like his mother, and he assumed they all had noses. There were no dark circles around their eyes that he could see, and they were all so happy looking. He could catch the occasional sound of laughter, especially in the winter. There was a steep hill behind the house, he had heard once, that led down into woodland area, where children would go sledding. Oh, how he longed to join them! He didn't have any snow gear or coat for the chilly conditions, but he would make do with anything to be able to slide down that hill.

Pausing in his thoughts, Jason's eyes averted back to the window. Sitting up, he noticed that one of the staples were loose. He didn't see how it could have gotten loose, but at the moment he didn't care. He walked over to the window, and with a sharp tug, pulled out the staple. It had been a more important staple than he thought, for a whole section of the curtain fell away, letting a glorious sliver of sunlight seep into the dim room. Jason closed his eyes, admiring that orange color he saw when the sun tried to break through his closed eyelids.

He was about to turn away, when the thought occurred to him: Mother is never in my room - she doesn't even know what color the walls are! I had to remind her just last month when I needed a new comforter for my bed!

In that split moment, without hesitating for fear he would change his mind, he started yanking out all of the staples that held up the curtains, tossing them into the nearby waste basket as he went. The dark gray felt fell to the ground, sending up dust after having hung there for so long. Sunlight poured into the room and onto Jason, who stretched out his arms and smiled. It was not going outside, but it sure made a difference.

He stood there a bit longer, then turned and sat on the bed again. He thought about what he had just done, and surprisingly, he didn't feel guilt. Even when he thought about what his mother might think if she found out, the thought was counteracted when he convinced himself that she was never down there to see what he does with his room.

Although he felt pretty good about himself at the moment, Jason still had that empty feeling inside. Whenever he looked at the children and teenagers in the streets and on the sidewalks, they were always with their peers. He hardly ever saw parents with them, only with the really young children. There was always a pair, or a group of three of four outside, roller skating down the street or just walking, talking, and laughing.

Suddenly, the curtainless window did not matter. What he really desired now was a friend. He had read about people and their friends, how a friend is someone to turn to when you need help, someone to laugh with and to cry with, someone to tell your innermost thoughts to and who you can trust to keep them secret. He never thought much of it before because he had Carrie, but apparently she was not enough. It was made obvious in the stories he had read that you must have at least one friend, so when your family is frustrating you and you have nowhere else to turn, the friend is there.

Jason sighed. "But how?" he thought. "How will I ever make a friend? Not only will mother not let me leave the house in order to meet people, but who would want to befriend someone that looked like this?" He had never known of the other deformed people his mother talked of as having friends - they only had a family support system. Not that Jason did not love his small, three-person family - he just thought that there has to be more than just that.

Jason laid down, so many thoughts and emotions racing through his head. It was already getting late. It was 5:40pm when he spoke to his mother, and he had been in his room for a few hours, although it seemed only a few minutes. He liked to get to sleep early, so in the midst of his thoughts, he felt himself drifting off, and he welcomed that. Finally, a break from all this stress. He fell asleep thinking of nothing but his conversation with his mother. Strangely enough, he had a dream that night (he didn't dream very often, and when he did it was of his mother or aunt). It was not of his mother or his aunt, though. It was a girl, about his age. He felt that he somehow knew her, but he could not see what she looked like. He was looking directly at her, but he couldn't put her features together to form a recognizable face. She was otherwise very vivid. She was a bit shorter than he was, not nearly as skinny as he but not overweight in the least, and had her brown hair up in a bun, her bangs combed off to the side of her forehead. Somehow, he felt that they were very close to one another. She smiled at him (in a faceless sort of way) and was about to take his hand, when he woke up.

As the years passed, Jason never forgot that dream. He thought about it every once in a while, especially when he looked at the window in his room, which remained curtainless without his mother's knowledge for some time. Somehow, the dream had put him at ease about the whole finding a friend thing he was so distraught about. First, he convinced himself that the girl was a guardian angel making an appearance in his time of need. After the first year, however, the longing for a companion became stronger than ever, and he pushed the thought aside thinking it was just his frustration going to his head, turning solely to prayer and hope that one day he may find someone to like him for himself. Little did he know that shortly after his twenty-second birthday, he would get his wish.


	2. The Move

21-year-old Jason Marcel shifted himself as best as he could inside the cardboard box he was in. With packing peanuts up to his chest and a couple of heavy, bulky vases making moving around difficult, it was excruciatingly hard – if not impossible – to get comfortable. He could not help but be cross with his mother for putting him in this situation even though it was the best they could do at the time to make sure no one saw him. His mother, Melinda Marcel, had decided to move herself and Jason to a smaller town than the one they had previously been living in. She feared for the conciliation of her son's ghastly appearance after discovering he had pulled off the curtain she had stapled over the one window he had in his basement bedroom. She was, of course, very upset, but her fear far outweighed her anger with Jason. She made plans to move the very next week, and had sold their home and bought another house within the month. Jason felt idiotic for what he had done; not only had he upset his mother with his actions, but now he was being taken away from the place he grew up in, the only home he had ever known. On the bright side, there would be new things to look at and…oh wait…where had looking out the window and disobeying his mother gotten him in the first place? No, he was not going to make that mistake again. Knowing his mother, she had probably bought a house that had a windowless basement.

The moving van hit a speed bump, making one of the brass vases lift slightly and bump into Jason's arm…hard. He gritted his teeth so as not to make a sound. "This is stupid..." he thought. "How would someone hear me back here anyway while the vehicle is moving?

He felt the van turn, then slow to a stop. He held his breath, hoping he was at his final destination. Sure, enough, the rumbling of the engine ceased, and he could hear a door slam. He quickly made sure the vases were as far from him as possible and in opposite corners. Jason's mother told him that she wanted the weight to be distributed evenly inside the box so that no one would suspect a person inside. Wrapping his thin arms around his lanky form as he heard the doors of the van open, he took a deep breath and braced for the possibly rough handling he might receive despite the "FRAGILE" label printed in all caps on the side of the box.

He heard someone count to three, and then couple of grunts when the men lifted a piece of furniture first. Jason waited, hoping they would start unloading boxes soon. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt himself being lifted from the floor. The man carrying him made a long, drawn-out groan as he carried the extra-heavy box out the back of the van. Jason's cardboard confinement bobbed up and down with the man's slow and deliberate steps. Jason nearly gasped aloud once as the man almost lost his grip as he climbed the porch steps of the house. He recovered quickly, and continued into the breezeway, down the hall, and past the newly redone kitchen, arriving at the basement door.

"Thanks, Frank," a deep voice grunted as another mover on his way out for more boxes opened the door for his friend. The bouncing of the box became more intense as the man walked down the stairs. As soon as the walking ceased, he bent over with another grunt and let the box drop when it was about six inches off the ground. Jason felt himself wanting to curse under his breath, but held it in knowing that cursing was wicked and sinful, and knowing that if he made even the slightest sound the man would make a double-take and suspect his presence.

"Why do the women have the heaviest boxes to be carried?" the man mumbled before making his way back up the stairs.

"I'm not that heavy," Jason thought while rolling his bright yellow eyes. "This man must be out of shape with all the grunting he did."

The door slammed, but that was not his ticket out of his cramped position. Melinda had told him she would come down and get him out of the box when everyone was gone, so he had to wait until then. Another fifteen minutes passed (Jason was counting this time) and the movement upstairs had seem to stop. Once in a while he would hear someone come down the stairs, expecting it to be Melinda, but he would only hear the soft thud of a box being set onto the carpet and retreating footsteps, followed by the basement door closing.

"Why don't they just leave the door open?" Jason thought irately to himself.

Jason was much more intelligent than most people, and he became easily riled when someone made a seemingly stupid mistake. He was a perfectionist in some cases, and wanted desperately to correct people. Sadly, he could not, so he just had to try and ignore it all. Even thought he lived his whole life inside, his mother provided him with books (that she approved) so that he could at least get a decent education in reading and writing so that he could have more than just his breathtaking music. He excelled far beyond her expectations, and had mastered the English language beyond the expertise of any college student by the time he was thirteen years old. During his time of studying English, his mother decided that mathematics would be a good thing for him to have as well, seeing how he was gliding through his English studies. Jason was as fascinated by math as he was English, if not more, breezing by Geometry when he was just nine years old. Seeing this, Melinda had almost had second thought about keeping him inside. Why should such genius be kept from the world? Her son had more knowledge of English and Mathematics than college professors, and he had the beautiful gift of music; he was able to name notes just by listening to them, and could play anything by ear minutes after hearing it in perfect pitch on his violin or piano. Melinda suspected he knew more and had done more with music than any of her friends with music majors. She did not know how he had come into all the knowledge he possessed, other than it must be a God-given miracle…a miracle in the most unassuming place you could imagine. She almost wept thinking how his genius may go unseen if he were allowed to go out into the world. People would sneer at him, gape at his sunken eyes and pale, yellow-green skin, and shun him for being without a nose, thinking of him as nothing more than a living corpse. That is what finalized her decision.

Jason closed his eyes and tried to ignore the growing discomfort in his lower back, knowing it would be difficult to stand up due to the pain of sitting in the fetal position for so long a time. He tried not to get his hopes up when he heard footsteps once again. His eyes popped open when he heard the duct tape that sealed the box being peeled off, and the flaps being lifted away to reveal his mother's aged but beautiful face. She smiled down at him, half apologetically and half relieved to see he had survived the grueling trip. He forced a smile back, although he was still a bit upset at what she put him through.

"I probably already know the answer," Melinda said, "but how was the trip?"

Jason raised himself slowly out of the box in order to avoid extreme pain in his tailbone. "I won't lie, mother," he said, stretching his back and arms, "It was one of the most grueling and boring experiences I have ever had."

Melinda stifled a laugh as Jason carefully stepped out of the box with packing peanuts sticking to his black trousers and soft gray zip-up jacket, then she shook her head. "I am so sorry, sweetheart," she sighed, "but what else were we supposed to do?"

Jason stopped picking the small pieces of Styrofoam from his pants long enough to shrug. It really was the safest and most convenient way for them. Something had to go into the box besides those two vases, anyways.

Melinda helped pull the peanuts off of Jason's shirt while he worked on cleaning off his pants. "At least we're home now," she stated with a smile. She then noticed that Jason still did not look at her.

"Jason, honey?" she said. The concern in her voice made Jason finally look up. "Is everything alright? I know you're probably still upset about having to spend an hour and a half in a cardboard box, but…"

"It's okay, mother," Jason interrupted calmly, "I forgive you for that, and I understand, but…" he paused, "…I just…don't know if I can get used to a new place, and…" he stopped, not sure how to express all of his emotions at once, or if he should express them at all.

"Jason." Melinda said firmly, "You will get used to it…we will. Think of it as a new chapter in our lives! Instead of that small room you had in the basement, you get one big room to reorganize however you like! There's plenty of room for your bed, dresser, desks…gosh, there's enough room down here for the grand piano, if you like! It's not used unless you're upstairs, but it's all up to you!"

Jason smiled, knowing his mother was trying her best to make him happy, and he appreciated her for it even though he felt she was not listening.

"Thank you, mother," he said, pulling her in for a hug. She gladly accepted, holding her only child, who was now fully grown and at six feet was at least half a head taller than her. She couldn't believe that she had almost given up on him the moment he was presented to her at birth, dreading the thought of being his mother. Years later, she loved him just as any mother would…even more, in some ways. She and her sister Carrie had seen a major change in her. She became a responsible, loving mother instead of the selfish, dramatic girl she once was.

After the mother-son moment and once Melinda helped Jason unpack all his belongings, he was alone in his new room, in his new house, in this new town (which his mother had said is in a completely different state). He did have a window in his room, but this one had a curtain too, and it was nailed to the wall with shining new nails. He picked up his worn and poorly patched teddy bear, Ludwig, whom he had cherished since infancy, flopped down on his well-made bed, and closed his eyes. He was about to drift off to sleep, when the memory of a dream he had six years before began to take form in his mind. The dream was still a mystery to him, and he couldn't decipher what it meant. He was always able to logically explain why he had every single one of his dreams, whether it be a book he read or an event that happened that day…or both mixed together…but he did not understand why he would dream of a girl that he had never read about and most certainly had never seen before; he did not even remember her having a face. Somehow, he felt like this girl was somehow important, but he did not believe in telling the future or visions or anything of the sort, so he was completely in the dark.

Jason squeezed his eyelids and his stuffed bear tighter, trying to block out the memory of a dream he had had so long ago, when he was a mere teenager, curious about the outside world. He had blocked out all curiosity after the guilt of having torn the curtain off of his old bedroom window set in. He stayed away from the window, just enjoying the light it let into his dingy room.

Now, lying on his bed with his eyes screwed shut, the sudden and unmistakable hunger for what was beyond the walls of his home came seeping into his being. Now, more than ever, he wanted to run out the front door into the cool fall weather and just stand outside, not worrying who saw him or what they thought of his face. But no, he could never do that to his mother…or to himself. He knew that people would notice him, and they would react in very unpleasant ways. They would immediately call the local news and tell them a monster was on the loose, and soon he would just be another irregular on display for the world to see, and his mother would be victimized as well. He shivered just thinking about the horrors…the breakdown his mother might have from all the unwanted attention, and the looks he would receive from people.

Sighing heavily, Jason relaxed his eyelids and tried to get some well-needed rest after the long day of packing, being cooped up in a box, and unpacking. Melinda brought his dinner down for him to eat whenever he was ready, and he ate a little, but he left the rest on his bedside table, having lost his appetite and only desiring sleep. The next day would be better; he knew it would be…

…or at least he hoped so.


	3. Birthday Surprise

It had been two weeks since Jason and his mother had moved to their small, peaceful neighborhood. During this time, Jason had begun to brush off his fears and stress, and he looked forward to the special day that happened to be today…his birthday.

He had always loved his birthdays; he loved the special feeling of being one year older, and the somewhat bitter sweetness of never being that age again. He was not as thrilled about the gifts. He always felt selfish when opening his gifts from his mother and aunt, but he loved to see the excitement on both his family members' faces; it proved that they wanted him to be happy as much as he wanted happiness for them, so he always over exaggerated his appreciation to show how much he cared.

On his the morning of September 23, he awoke bright and early at seven o'clock sharp and trotted up the stairs to the kitchen in his pajamas. His mother was already awake making breakfast, thankful that Jason's birthday fell on a weekend this year so that she could stay home for his big day.

"Happy birthday, Jason," Melinda said with a smile, her eyes dancing as if she had a secret like they did every birthday.

"Thank you, Mother," Jason replied, seating himself on a bar stool at the island counter. Without missing a beat, his mother placed a stack of pancakes with maple syrup and a glass of milk in front of him. She herself had a plate of food as well, and sat across from him. They both said their morning Grace, and dug in.

"How did you sleep last night?" Melinda asked.

"Very well…and you?"

"Fine…Are you getting used to the house alright?"

Jason chewed a mouthful of pancake, and then swallowed. "Yes…it's a lot less noisy here than it was in the city."

Melinda nodded while sipping her tea. "That is one of the reasons I picked this place; it's quiet, it's peaceful…not as many noisy savages around." She laughed.

Jason smiled weakly in response, knowing his mother was still trying to convince him to this day that all people outside their small family were cruel, hateful, and boorish. But how, he thought , could such people invent such beauteous and remarkable things, such as music, art – even though he was not much of an artist, but appreciated it anyway – and literature. Such things could not be dreamed up by idle and ignorant minds; there had to be at least some decent people in the world who could create the things that gave him happiness. And what about his mother and Aunt Carrie? Did they honestly think that Jason and they were the only truly honest people in the world? He knew better…he had known better for nearly seven years, now, and not just because of that dream he had when he was fifteen. He had suspected that his mother was trying to over exaggerate the "cruelties outside of these walls," and had questioned himself and his mother for months over it. What really got to him was that Carrie - his aunt Carrie, whom had loved him and helped rear him since the day he was born – was in on his mother's ways. She, too, would tell him once in a while about the bad things that went on in the world so Jason would not want to go outside. Oh, how he missed her, now that he thought of it. She had been working weird hours at the hospital and was always too exhausted to come see them on Sundays like she normally did. It had been at least two months, and the only time Jason was able to talk to her was on the phone when she was on her breaks or at home. And now, she was an hour and a half away, probably not willing to make the long drive to visit just for one day, even if it was her one and only nephew's birthday.

"Sweetheart?" Melinda said, interrupting his thoughts, "Would you please go downstairs for a little while after you finish breakfast? I'd like to get your birthday present ready for you."

Jason nodded, finished his last few bites, and then dumped his plate and glass into the sudsy water in the sink. He walked back downstairs to his bedroom and, shutting the extra door his mother and he installed at the bottom of the stairs, began to dress for the day. It was Saturday, so he wore his lazy outfit – a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt. He combed his hair and brushed his teeth in the downstairs bathroom, and then he picked up the book he had just finished from his bedside table and reread the last chapter while waiting for his mother to call him back upstairs. It really was an interesting story. It was the story of a young boy who had been kidnapped at birth and lived his entire childhood and teenage years in the care of complete strangers who would never let him go outside, for fear he would be recognized (Jason could definitely relate to that). Then one day, when he was finally allowed to go out on his own, he met his twin brother, who had grown up with his real family, but had run away because he wanted to find his long-lost brother. The whole entire book was about the main character and his newly found twin brother trying to reunite with their parents, who they discovered early in the book had moved to an unknown location shortly after their second son ran away.

Jason was about halfway through the chapter when he heard his mother's voice calling his name from the top of the stairs. He hurriedly tossed the put back on the table and made his way quickly upstairs, where his jaw dropped when he saw that his present was not an object, but a person.

Carrie Jamison, Jason's dearly loved aunt, was standing near the entryway, a huge smile spread over her fair face. Jason ran to her and embraced her, making her laugh out loud while hugging him back.

"Carrie!" He exclaimed as he pulled away with his hands still resting on her shoulders.

"Surprised?" she asked with another laugh, "You didn't think I'd miss my favorite nephew's twenty-second birthday, now did you?" She messed up his hair affectionately.

Jason laughed. "I suppose not! But why aren't you working? I thought you had to work on Saturdays!"

Carrie grinned triumphantly. "I've been saving up my vacation days for a while, just in case something like this was to come up. So now, I'm going to use up all my vacation days I've saved so far to spend the next month and a half with my two favorite people!" The surprise and elation on Jason's face made Carrie laugh again, the dimple on her right cheek showing for a split second, and she wrapped him in her arms once more.

Melinda, enjoying the little reunion from afar, cleared her throat. "Now, how about we move on into the living room? I think your aunt Carrie has something she wants to give you." She winked at her sister, who grinned in reply.

Jason nodded and led the way into the cozy little living room in the front of the house. He sat down in the middle of the sofa, letting his mother have the seat to his left and his aunt have the seat to his right. His mother brought out a package that Jason had not noticed her carry into the room. It was wrapped plainly with white tissue paper and topped with a bow. He carefully unwrapped this first to find a small instrument he had never seen before. Fascinated, he asked what it was.

"It's a piccolo," Melinda stated, "It's like a small version of a flute. You had mentioned you wanted to learn a new instrument, and we're a little low on funds at the moment, so I had to get something small…do you like it?"

"Of course, it's wonderful! Thank you very much!" He leaned over to hug his mother in appreciation. This was just what he wanted; now he could start learning all new music.

Now it was Carrie's turn. She set down her large, leather purse on the plush carpet and unzipped the middle pouch. She withdrew a box the size of a book, which was wrapped in silver paper and topped with a blue ribbon. Handing it to her nephew, she glanced at her sister, who raised her eyebrows and grinned hopefully.

Jason held the gift in his lap for a moment, admiring it, then tore the paper from both sides, saving the bow and sticking it in Carrie's bobbed ebony hair, making her giggle. He lifted the lid from the box and peered inside. The gift, in fact, was a book, which made Jason's features light up with joy. He loved books, and this looked to be an older novel, which was a good thing, for he loved older books. He liked older stories better because they used a wider range of vocabulary and had more in depth details. He lifted it out of the box and looked at the title: "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux. He thanked his aunt graciously and hugged her once more. "What is it about?" he asked her.

He looked at Melinda for a moment, then said, "You'll have to read it to find out," and winked.

Jason rolled his eyes in amusement, and then rose to carry his piccolo and book down to his bedroom. As soon as he left the room, Melinda scooted toward her sister on the couch.

"So," she began with suspicion, "What is the book about? You usually check with me before giving him something like that."

Carrie laughed. "Oh, Melinda, you're overreacting! The book is completely harmless. It's basically a love triangle that takes place between a deformed musician who lives in the depths of and opera house, a young singer whom he had tutored, and a rich patron that the girl loves, and who loves her back as well; it has a tragic ending, but I think Jason would enjoy it!"

"Well, if you say so…I trust you," Melinda took her sister's hand and gave it a squeeze, then said, "Here, I'll help you take your luggage upstairs. Your room will be the first on the left. You can't miss it."

Carrie took both her carry-all bags, while Melinda insisted on lugging her wheeled suitcase up the stairs. As they did so, Carrie's mind wandered. She neglected to tell Melinda of the striking similarities between Erik, the Phantom in the story, and Jason as described within the first few pages of the book:

"…He is extraordinarily thin and his dress-coat hangs on a skeletal frame. His eyes are so deep that you can hardly see the fixed pupils. You just see two big black holes, as in a dead man's skull. His skin, which is stretched across his bones like a drumhead, is not white, but a nasty yellow. His nose is little worth talking about that you can't see it side-face; and the absence of that nose is a horrible thing to look at. All the hair he has is three or four long dark locks on his forehead and behind his ears…"

Besides the style of clothing and the lack of hair, everything was pretty much spot-on, although Jason wasn't exactly "horrible" to look at, in her opinion. As she read further into the book, she was even more flabbergasted to find that Erik and Jason were both tremendously brilliant, and they were both aspiring musicians and magicians. Jason had never shown interest in architecture like Erik had in the story, but she wouldn't be surprised if he one day discovered the art and pursued it.

She had finished reading the book awhile ago, and somehow she felt she had to give it to Jason. "But why did I choose Jason?" she thought to herself. Well, she knew why, but somehow she could not convince herself that was the real reason. The reason was the fact that she secretly hated the idea that Jason had to grow up locked inside of a house with no access to the outdoors and no chance to meet other people who might look past his mutation and be a friend. Her sister insisted that no one ever see him, and that it was for his own safety. For a long time, she believed her and tried not to get in the way. But after all the horrific deformities she had seen in the years that followed, and how she saw the victims of these still had loving families and normal lives in peace, she had questioned her elder sister's reasoning. With each passing year, she tried to conjure up a way for Jason to at least be able to go outside…to have a friend and be able to grow socially and be independent like any other twenty-two year old.

She gave him the book not knowing what the knowledge of someone with the same face as he could exist, whether it is in reality or fiction, could potentially do. Would it shock him enough to want to explore further? Would he grow tired of not knowing everything there is about his condition and eventually want to leave his confinement for the first time? Oh, how she wanted that for him! She probably wanted it more than he did, actually. In the prologue of "Phantom," the very first sentence was "The Opera Ghost really existed." Carrie had the belief that people being able to live as Erik did in the book could exist, but the book had been marked as "FICTION," so she just figured Monsieur Leroux had just wanted to get the reader's attention.

Now she wasn't so sure.

Gaston Leroux had added small notes of his research throughout the book, making the story seem far less like fiction and more like a historical event.

"Is it possible Jason wasn't the only one?" Carrie asked herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she accidentally bumped into the back of her sister, who had reached the top of the stairs and had set the suitcase down so she could rest.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with surprise, "You scared me! Didn't you see me standing here?"

"Sorry!" she replied, a grimace of regret on her face, "I guess I was spacing off…it really was a long trip, so I'm kind of tired!"

Melinda rolled her eyes. "You always were a daydreamer, Carrie-Berry."

Carrie grinned at the nickname and proceeded to follow Melinda into the guest room.

In the basement, Jason had found a place for his new book on his shelf, right in between "Magic for Professionals" and "Pride and Prejudice." He admired it again, imagining himself snuggled up on the chair he had in the corner of his room reading it. He would wait until after dinner, and then spend the rest of the evening reading until bedtime. He would try to read slowly, of course, because he would like to be reading over the course of at least the next few days; he liked having something to look forward to for the next night.

He was delighted to find that the piccolo case was small enough to be set right on top of his desk without taking up too much space while he wrote his music. He carefully laid it in the very corner near where the desk and the beige colored wall met. Satisfied, he walked back upstairs to find his mother and aunt waiting for him in the living room.

The rest of the day was wonderful for Jason. His mother, Carrie and he played games, sang together (Jason drowned them both out), and Carrie and he put on a miniature comedy play for Melinda, who nearly fell over laughing at their hysterical expressions and hilarious actions. Carrie had trouble concealing her laughter as well, but Jason was as solid as a rock, which made it even harder for the sisters to not bust their guts laughing.

This was the most fun any of them had experienced in a long time, and it was a rare moment when Jason's shy and calm exterior would vanish and be replaced with loud laughter and silly faces.

It was not long before it was already dinner time, and the trio realized they had forgotten lunch due to all the fun. Melinda quickly fixed their supper, and afterwards brought out the cake she had bought for the occasion. There were two candles on top, both shaped like the number two. The birthday song was sung and the candles were blown out. The cake was served, and Jason tried to enjoy it, but he could not stop himself from eating quickly; he was anxious to say his good-nights and go downstairs to read his new book.

After some more chatting after cake, Jason said his good-nights and made his way to the basement stairs. Carrie watched him out of her peripheral vision, knowing he was going to start reading that book tonight. He acted so excited when he received it, and Melinda had said he had just finished reading all of his books for the second time, some for the third. She said he would be positively elated to be able to read a new book he has never read before.

Carrie knew that he was a fast reader – he could not help himself – and he was extremely observant, so he would most definitely reach "the passage" within a the next fifteen minutes or so.

An hour went by with absolutely no sound coming from the basement, a sure sign Jason was absorbed in reading his book. Carrie had become paranoid, glancing at the door once in awhile while Melinda was not looking as if she expected something to happen, but nothing did. It was approaching eight o'clock, and her eyelids were beginning to sag, exhausted from her day of packing, driving, and laughter.

"Well, I'd better turn in," she said to Melinda, who also looked a bit tired.

"Yes, that is a good idea." Melinda yawned, which then made Carrie yawn. They laughed, and headed up the stairs to their bedrooms. Carrie had some trouble getting to sleep that night, pondering over the situation she possibly put her and her family in. Something could happen, but then again it may not. She honestly did not know what to expect next.


	4. Jumbled Thoughts

Jason closed the book he had been reading for the past few hours and slowly set it down on his lap. He turned his head to look dazed at the clock. It was 3:47AM. He had been up nearly all night reading his new book from his aunt. He had planned on just spending an hour or two reading it, but when he came across one certain paragraph toward the beginning, he felt he had to keep going.

He had started reading as soon as he was settled in his cozy chair in the corner of his room, excited to read a ghost story. Those kinds had always thrilled him despite his disbelief in the paranormal, and he chuckled at the prologue and how Gaston Leroux blabbered on and on about how "The Opera Ghost existed." Then there came the part where Joseph Buquet, the scene-shifter, had described his encounter with the ghost. Jason read the quotation nearly three times, trying to form a mental picture other than what he saw in his mind's eye. What he read was almost exactly how he would describe looking in the mirror, save the fact that he had a full head of hair, of course. At first, Jason was confused, and figured he was misunderstanding the content, and then his confusion turned to disbelief and a mixture of emotions he could not recognize. The world around him disappeared, and time seemed to stand still. He continued to read without even realizing it, and in what seemed like mere minutes he had finished the book, memorizing each and every detail he had read. He had not known what to think of the book that was now resting on the light blue blanket that covered his thighs. It was a good story, even though it was tragic and the ghost turned out to be just a deranged man, but this deranged man was what caught Jason's attention. Jason was told by his mother that his "condition" was like nothing the medical world had ever seen, and that he was the first one with it. Yet here he was, reading a hundred-year-old story that details a man who could easily have been Jason set in another time period.

Jason gripped the arms of the chair and heaved himself up, stretching his numbed legs. He ran a hand through his black hair, trying to make sense of the situation. Did Carrie give him the book on purpose, or was this some sort of message from God? He figured it was probably a God thing either way, being the devote Christian he was, but he could not help but wonder if Carrie was in the mix.

Questions and emotions whirled around his brain as Jason shuffled slowly over to the basement bathroom, still gripping his hair with his slender fingers. The faucet made a loud creak as he turned it. He leaned over the sink, filled his hands with the cool water and splashed the liquid onto his pale face. Taking a hand towel he wiped away the cold beads trickling down his sunken cheeks and looked into the mirror, a pair of drooping, tired eyes staring back at him. He was used to his face after having been born with it, but at the moment he began to see himself as how the characters in "Phantom" saw poor Erik – ugly, horrifying…a walking corpse with a death's head.

He turned away from the mirror. "No," he thought, "That was a long time ago…heck, that book is FICTION for Pete's sake! This is reality! Mother even said that there are people that are worse off than me! Those are the people that everybody laughs at and mocks when they take a single step outdoors…right?"

Jason remembered the part about how Christine Daae had shown compassion for Erik despite his past and his looks. Yes, she was disgusted by him at first, but when he let Raoul live, she was able to see how truly loving he was, and she showed him the most love he had ever seen by letting him kiss her forehead without stiffening at his touch…She even kissed him back…

Jason stumbled out of the bathroom, not knowing what to make of his current situation. He had always known that there had to be human decency in the world, but his mother had tried convincing him otherwise. This book proved his mother wrong…that is, if it was a real story.

If the book was fact, his mother would be instantaneously proven wrong, and Jason would have an alibi to have his way of things concerning his freedom. If it were fiction, Melinda's words would stand true, that books are just fantasies made by cruel people to torment the emotions of others. He sighed, knowing that he would never find out unless he were to ask his mother or his aunt, whom he knew would say that the book is just a made-up story. He would have to find out for himself about this mysterious Phantom and the beautiful young singer and if they truly existed, but he would have to leave the house to do so since he was limited on resources inside (he was not allowed to use the computer), which was near impossible without his mother finding out. A new set of questions formed in his mind: What if I left on a day she was working? Could Carrie keep my secret? Would I be able to trust her? And what of Erik? Is our condition genetic? Could we be related somehow? If so, through whom did the gene travel? Was it through my mother or my father?

Jason's eyelids began to droop as these thoughts bounced around in his mind, and he eventually fell into a deep slumber, not awaking until near lunchtime. Melinda began to worry and had sent Carrie down to check on him when he didn't come up for breakfast. She found him fast asleep on his bed on top of the comforter. She shook her head, knowing he had probably stayed up late reading that book. He grabbed the blanket that had covered him while he had read and gently laid it over her sleeping nephew, brushing a dark lock from his still and peaceful face. She exhaled through her nose and turned to walk back upstairs, but she stopped herself. Turning back around, she spotted her nephew's new novel on the small table by his chair. She walked over and picked it up, surprised to see that there was a book mark near the very beginning.

"That's odd," she thought to herself while opening the book. "He surely would have gotten further into the story than this."

She turned to the page and wasn't surprised to see a quote made by Joseph Buquet regarding the Phantom typed across the page, detailing the man's encounter with the Phantom. Her heart swelled with the feeling that her secret quest had prevailed, but a bit of dread also filled her heart as she thought of the trouble she may have caused. She may have just ruined a mother/son relationship. Jason adored his mother, and Melinda cherished her son more than anything, for he was all she had left of Matthew; the pair was as close as two peas in a pod. But Carrie could imagine the looks on both their faces if Jason were to confront his mother on the situation…Melinda would be a mixture of confusion and panic, while Jason…well, it was sometimes hard to tell what Jason would do - his mind could be so fragile even with his vast amount of knowledge.

She set the book back in its place, and turned to head upstairs to breakfast. She tried to put on an amused smile as she told her sister her son was still sleeping, most likely up all night reading. Melinda went on about how many times she had told Jason to be asleep by 9:00, but one could sense her pride of her son's love of reading, and her amusement that he just couldn't seem to do enough of it. When Jason finally came trudging up the stairs and into the kitchen, Melinda could see that Jason wasn't himself. He mumbled in reply to her morning greeting, and he barely looked at her while he sat down to eat his lunch/breakfast. Melinda eyed Carrie in confusion, but she only shrugged in reply, just as surprised as her sister. She hadn't expected Jason to act quite like this.

Lunch ended, and Jason's plate had hardly been touched. This came as a surprise to both women; Jason was usually a good eater despite his emaciated physique. He slugged back down to his room after dumping and washing his plate, not saying a word the entire time, leaving Melinda and Carrie in an air of awkward silence.

A lamp light flickered to life in a second-story bedroom next door to the Marcel household at approximately 3AM. Erin Carmody sat up in bed, her light brown hair a tangled mess about her head and shoulders. She had woken up for no reason whatsoever, and had been tossing and turning, trying to fall back asleep for that past hour and ten minutes. It was to no avail. In frustration, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Stretching her arms high into the air, a muffled crack emanated from her back. She exhaled with relief from the stiffness she had felt and walked over to her desk, which sat against the opposite wall from her bed. Picking up her hardcover sketchbook she had received for Easter, she flipped through pages that had already been filled with sketches and detailed pictures. She smiled when she came across one that she had drawn of her twin brother with his football uniform, and saw the faint pencil lines that he had drawn in to make himself look like he had a mustache. She had erased them, but the shadow of the graphite still remained as a reminder of her dear brother's silliness.

She turned to the picture she was currently working on as a gift for one of her friends in college. This friend of hers happened to be a fan of The Phantom of the Opera, like herself, so she was drawing a detailed picture of the theatrical version with the half mask. Erin preferred the book version above all else, but she only appeared neutral. Grabbing her colored pencils, she sat back down on her bed and began to work, carefully blending and shading to create as dramatic an affect as possible with her dark colors. She he was so engulfed in her work that she did not notice the soft knocking at her door. After the third set of knocks, the door was eased open a crack, then a young man with the same light brown hair peeked into the room.

"Psst!" he hissed, making Erin jump with fright. Her large brown eyes sprang towards the door, only to role in their sockets at the sight of her brother grinning back at her.

"What are you doing up, Rory?" She said as her brother quietly slipped into her room and shut the door.

He sat down on the bed next to his sister. "I should ask you the same thing. I got up to take a bathroom break and I noticed your lamp was on. You been up long?"

"Naw," she held her hand over her drawing, not meeting his eyes, "I've been up for about an hour, actually. I only just turned on my lamp when I couldn't fall back asleep."

"Whatcha drawin'?" He eyed her sketchbook, which was held hesitantly on Erin's lap. Rory pried the book from her hands , ignoring her disapproval, and scanned her work.

"Gee, Erin," He said, gawking at her drawing of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom, "You're just getting better all the time! I always thought that you couldn't get any better than you were before college, but boy was I wrong!"

He closed the book and handed it back to his twin's waiting arms. She grasped it to her chest and blushed. "They're not that special…music is my real talent."

"But you're going for a double major!" he protested, "You can't honestly think you're mediocre if you're taking a major in art as well as in music!" He paused, seeing she wasn't paying him any attention. With a large, strong hand, he tilted her face so she was looking at him. "You're a modest person, Erin, and that's good quality not many people possess, but don't take it too far. Bask a little! Remember what Dad always said? 'Don't expect to make it big, but don't be surprised when it happens.' You're doing the first thing, but not so much the second. Keep that in mind."

He tweaked her nose and then left the room. Erin shook her head. Her brother was always trying to give her pep talks and boost her self-esteem; he was her best friend, after all, and she knew he would do anything for her. It wasn't like she was like she was not proud of her artwork, she was, but she had gotten a lot of unwanted criticism from others over the past few years about her style and the subjects that were in her artwork. She had no trouble with music; everyone she played to enjoyed the crystal clear sounds and moving melodies that came from her flute, so that was something she had to appreciate. Art was more of her pastime, her hobby, but deep down she wished it could be more. That was why she was majoring in art as well and for music…she wanted to learn to draw things that people other than her brother could appreciate. So far, she learned a lot from the classes she had been taking from the local community college, but nothing really felt natural. She wished she could have someone who knew what it was like to keep all those feelings stored up inside, limited to certain people and invisible to the world. She wished so dearly to find someone like that – preferably someone into music as well.

"But what are the chances of that?" she thought, suddenly losing the desire to finish coloring. Maybe she would continue tomorrow.

Setting her sketchbook and pencil bag on her nightstand, she covered herself back up with her blankets and leaned over to turn off her lamp. Laying her head on her pillow, she stared up at the ceiling, wondering if she would ever find a friend to confide in, someone who would look at her art and love it for what it was instead of comparing to traditional art and modern works.

Someone to share her love of music.

She closed her eyes and folded her hands, praying for not only sleep, but for the patience and courage to figure things out and perhaps find a true companion before graduation next year. She also prayed for her brother, so he would be blessed for all he's done for her. Closing her prayer, she pushed all bad thoughts aside and thought about her excitement for the upcoming football game that her brother would be playing in. She soon drifted off, unaware that her prayer would be answered much sooner than she thought.


	5. Not Just a Dream

Days went by, and Melinda and Carrie felt shunned. Jason would never talk to them except to mumble an answer to a question, and he barely made eye contact. Carrie's regret began to grow with each passing day, and Melinda was beside herself with worry for her son's well-being.

"What has happened to him?" she nearly sobbed one day, "He's never acted like this before! What could have possibly happened to make him act like this?"

Carrie could only shake her head and offer condolences and words of hope for her poor sister. Melinda had tried to approach Jason several times to ask him what was wrong, but all he said was he didn't want to talk about it. Carrie's guilt increased, but she just couldn't bring herself to suggest what probably had upset Jason, fearing her own relationship with her only sibling, but if she did not try to clear this all up, things would never be back to normal.

"What an idiot I am," she thought angrily.

As the sisters were sitting at the dining room table one Monday evening, over a week after Jason's birthday, Jason unexpectedly approached them and said, "May I please speak to Carrie for a moment?"

Melinda and Carrie looked at each other, and Melinda nodded once slowly before taking a sip of her tea. At least he wanted to talk to somebody. Carrie stood up and followed Jason to the basement door, where they walked downstairs. Jason allowed his aunt to go first, then he shut the door behind them. He remained still for a moment or two, and Carrie became uncomfortable.

Jason could sense Carrie's discomfort, even when he was turned away from her. The heaviness in the room was apparent, and he was not sure what to say now. He had been planning on having this conversation, wracking his brain all week to think of a logical way to approach Carrie on the subject of "The Phantom of the Opera," and ask her if she had indeed given him that book on purpose. For what reason she may have, he did not know, but he wanted to find out.

"Did you give me that book on purpose?" he spoke into the wooden door.

Carrie sighed, realizing she might as well confess. "Yes…I did."

Jason remained silent, but turned around and walked over to the swivel chair by his desk. He sank down into the black cushion and leaned against the back, staring straight ahead and not really looking at anything. He looked extremely tired.

"Why?" he asked her.

Carrie wrung her hands, searching for the right words, "I figured…you were so curious about the world, so I thought you wanted to leave here…to meet others and perhaps make a friend, or…and I wanted that for you, but…"

Carrie suddenly clenched her fists in frustration, "Why am I such an idiot! I could have told you about what I had found instead of letting you find out the hard way! Of course, I guess it would have had the same affect either way, but…UGH!" Carrie often kicked herself for many things, for it was a habit to act without thinking thoroughly enough, but this time she had thought this through, and it just seemed right to her to let him absorb this boggling information about Erik alone…she didn't know why, but now she regretted it.

Jason stood and put his hands on Carrie shoulders, "Calm down, Carrie, it's okay." Those words seemed to stop her fussing, if not shock her in the progress. It was okay? She wasn't sure what had just happened.

Jason sighed heavily, and led Carrie over to his reading chair, where she sat down. He pulled up his desk chair and sat in front of her.

"Carrie," he began, "For years I have been yearning to leave, but could never bring myself to go against Mother's orders..." he paused, looking down at the floor with a bit of shame, "I began rebelling by doing small things, like going up to the attic in our old house to look out the window, and I pulled the curtains off of the window in my old bedroom so I could feel the sun on my face," he raised his head a bit, closing his eyes as if imagining the first moment he had pulled down those forsaken curtains to let in the warm, glorious sunlight, "It seemed okay, as long as Mother never found out and I never mentioned or gave the appearance of wanting to leave. But every year," he opened his eyes, a grim expression chiseled onto his features, "the urge grew stronger, and I knew that somehow, someway, I had to convince mother to let me go."

Jason looked up at Carrie, whose eyes were glossy with unshod tears. Never had she imagined the wanting of freedom to be so great in Jason, who had been sheltered and told that the world was made up of hate all his life. Jason noticed her emotions, and took her hand, giving her a weak but comforting smile.

"But Jason," she said softly, "I don't see how that will ever work. You're mother would eventually find out, sooner or later, and even if you did go out secretly, anyone who saw you would…" she stopped there, not wanting to hurt Jason with the facts. Her words did not seem to faze him, but instead, his expression changed. He looked like a person who had been scared, but had just decided to go through with a grisly task anyway, for the sake of what he believed in. Jason stood, then said, "I'm doing it."

Carrie looked as though she had just seen a ghost. "Jason, what are you saying? You don't honestly think you can just…" He held up his hand, stopping her.

"I will find a way," he said, "and it will be alright. I won't actually wander about the town. My window apparently faces the backyard, so I'll just sit there. It does have a fence, right? And until then, you can keep trying to convince mother to figure out a way for me to leave this place for good. I'm twenty-two, for goodness' sake! Most people my age are out of college and have a place of their own by now!" He waited for his aunt to protest again, but she didn't. Instead, she sighed, and said, "I guess I can't really stop you…" she looked up, and Jason was boggled to see a flash of playfulness in her eye, "I'll probably decide to take an extra long shower one day when your mom is working…perhaps a Tuesday…" she added a small wink. Tomorrow was Tuesday. "And you'll just slip out while my back is turned; I wouldn't even know you were gone!" Carrie sighed dramatically; pressing the back side of her left hand to her forehead with the other was on her hip. "Oh, poor, stupid me!"

Jason laughed at his aunt's dramatics. This was obviously a hint that she had changed her mind, and trusting him with a chance to taste some fresh air. He wrapped her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, Carrie," he whispered.

She smiled, then ruffled his hair like she always did to show her affection. The pair headed back upstairs to Melinda, who was waiting patiently for them. Jason apologized for his behavior, and explained that he had not had the best sleep the last few nights…a cat kept meowing outside his window and keeping him awake. Melinda was relieved that it was as simple as that and the mother and son shared a loving embrace.

The next day, Jason woke up bright and early, waiting for the chance for Carrie to shower and for him to make his move. At breakfast, Carrie gave him a slight wink of encouragement when Melinda was not looking, and when Melinda left for work, that was Carrie's cue to "suddenly realize she had forgotten to shower the night before." She headed up the stairs, and when Jason heard the water begin to run, he ran down the stairs and pulled his desk drawer open. There, he removed the hammer he had stowed the night before while his mother was brushing her teeth for bed. Gripping the handle, he made a bee-line for the curtained window that separated him from the outside. He began prying away the sturdy nails that bound the piece of cloth to the wall. The window was high since he was in a basement, so he grabbed the stool from his bathroom and stood on it in order to reach and pry off the top nails. The curtain began to fold back as more nails were removed, and after the last nail, it fell to the floor. He looked out to see that this window did in fact face the backyard. It was a very secluded area, with tall, scruffy hedges covering to the left and right, and a large, wooden fence to the back, where a thick foliage of trees continued on from there. Jason concluded that their house must be near a woodland area like their other house. He found the latch to the window and twisted it. With a small click, the window unlocked, and he pushed it open. Standing on his tiptoes, he poked his head out into the open, looking for signs of human life. The air was a bit chilly, but it felt wonderful to him. He squeezing his slim upper body through the opening and next brought out his legs. He crawled out further into the yard, fearing detection by a passerby if he stood, and then sat up on his knees. The knees of his pants suddenly felt damp, and he realized there was a bit of dew on the grass. He had never seen dew before, and bent over to take a closer look. Each individual droplet of water seemed to be placed perfectly on the blades of grass, like little clear pearls. It was positively beautiful to Jason. He sat back up, and looked at his surroundings, taking in the breathtaking beauty of the clear, cloudless morning. The feeling of the cool breeze and the warmth of the sun on his face was a heavenly one, and he felt a twinge of sadness for what he had been missing all his life.

A rustling came from the other side of the fence in the wooded area, startling Jason. He looked around frantically, trying to find a place to hide. There was a small clearing within the thick hedges to his right, so his quickly scrambled over to it. He squeezed himself into the fetal position, trying his best to stay as hidden as possible. Then the thought occurred to him: What if it was just an animal. He smirked, thinking himself a fool for being so frightened of a small noise. Of course, it could have been a person, too, so his mad scramble was not a total loss. The rustling had stopped, so he decided it was probably safe to venture back out. He made a move, but realized his shirt had snagged into a branch. He reached behind him to pull it lose, but the fabric was caught at an angle that was hard to reach. He groaned. This would probably take awhile. He began to twist as far as he could to try and reach, when he heard a door on the other side of the hedge open and close. He froze when he heard footsteps approaching. They stopped a few feet from his hiding spot, and a slight shuffling of the grass could be heard, as if someone had sat down. The person began to hum, and right then Jason knew the person must be female. The voice was very soft and soothing, and the melody was very calming. He also heard the scratching of pencil against paper. He slowly turned his head, trying to get a view through the brush of this person. He leaned over a bit so his angle might be better, but in doing so he felt himself begin to fall. The quick movement he made with his hand to stop himself snapped a nearby limb, which cut into his skin. He gritted his teeth, hoping the person had not heard. The humming stopped for a moment, then continued. He closed his eyes, relieved, but he still wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this mess. He looked at his hand, which was now bleeding slightly, and hoped this stranger wasn't going to be outside for long. His back was already beginning to ache from the tight position he was in.

"Just wait," Jason thought, "All I have to do is wait."

Several minutes went by, and the girl humming had changed melodies, continuing to write – or sketch, Jason could not tell – on her paper. Jason could not decide whether this was better than being trapped in box or not. After assuring himself that he could stand to wait a bit longer, he felt a sneeze coming. His mother was puzzled the first time Jason had ever sneezed. She didn't thinking someone without a nose could sneeze, but Jason proved her wrong. Jason covered his mouth to prevent the sneeze from escaping, but it was too late. It escaped with so much force, the leaves in front of him rustled violently. He heard the frantic scuffling of feet as the person beyond the hedge stood up, obviously frightened by the disembodied sneeze that had emanated from the bushes. Jason's hands remained over his mouth for a moment or two, then footsteps started slowly his way. He began to twist and turn back and forth, reaching his arms backwards at odd angles to try and detach himself from the branch, no longer caring whether or not anybody heard him. The footsteps stopped, and a hand reached down and parted the leaves blocking the space in between Jason and the person. He stopped struggling, realizing it was too late, and covered his face with his arms, saying a silent prayer. Tears filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks, dreading the fact that he had probably failed his mother and his aunt. He felt the warmth of the sun on him once more as the leaves were spread apart by the arms of this unknown person. He resisted looking up during the silence that followed, until he heard a kind voice say, "Are you okay?"

Jason peeked out from under his arm to look at the person's feet. Whoever it was had on a pair of black and white tennis shoes and light blue jeans, and as he looked up more, he could just made out the bottom hem of a pale pinkish-purple shirt. He could not resist the urge to look up, so he slowly raised his head from his arms. Looking up, he saw that it was indeed a girl, probably in her late teens or early twenties, with a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black earrings. Her light brown hair was tied back into a bun, and her bangs were swooped over to cover one whole side of her forehead. Her large brown eyes stared into his, not with fear, but with question and a bit of fascination. Her rosy lips were parted slightly, showing what Jason presumed to be a row of straight, white teeth. She was pretty…not beautiful, but very comely, and she seemed to have a look of wonder about her gaze.

Jason stared at her, surprised she wasn't the least bit scared or disgusted by his appearance as people were of Erik in 'Phantom,' but he could not help but feel that this girl looked strikingly familiar. He pondered for a moment, then came to the shocking discovery…

…This was the same girl from his dream.

Erin, after getting dressed that beautiful Tuesday morning, had decided it was nice enough to finish her drawing of the Phantom outside. She grabbed her sketchpad and pencils and walked out into her backyard, surrounded by tall hedges. Sitting in her favorite spot near one side of the lawn, he began to color and shade, humming her favorite rock ballad by Queen, called Bohemian Rhapsody. Some of her friends thought it was strange that she liked older music, but she didn't care. She would listen to any type of music, honestly, as long as it was something with a nice melody and a good structure.

A twig snapped somewhere, drawing her attention. She wasn't sure where it came from, but she brushed it off, thinking an animal had been lurking in the woods behind her house. She continued coloring away at her picture, switching to humming a couple of "Phantom of the Opera" songs to get her in the mood of what she was coloring. Her mind began to wonder, and she thought of when her and Rory were little, playing in the back yard with balls and jump ropes. They had grown up here, and were still living here while they attended college. She recalled one summer when they were ten, where Rory had decided to go exploring in the woods. Erin had come along, and the two had discovered a pond. They had immediately taken off their shoes and waded in. Rory had warned Erin, who wasn't the best swimmer at the time, to stay away from the middle because it was a lot deeper than he had thought. Erin obeyed, but had become envious of Rory's ability to swim when she watched him having so much fun in the deep end. She swam over to try and see if she could at least float next to him, but instead found herself pulled under when she came upon a steep drop-off from the shallow water to the deep water. She had become disoriented and panicked, fighting to swim to the surface, and Rory had come to her rescue. Since then, she had taken swimming lessons, and was now proficient at swimming, but she never visited that pond again; the memory of almost drowning was too much for her.

A bellowing sneeze from behind Erin yanked her from her thoughts, and she jumped to her feet in alarm. There was no one there, and she became frightened. What if there was a crook in the hedge? She picked up a stick large stick that was lying on the ground, and holding it close for defense, made her way toward the hedge. There was a great amount of shuffling within the leaves, as if someone were trying to run away but couldn't.

Biting her lower lip, Erin reached forward and parted the leaves. There, sitting in the fetal position with his arms covering his head and the back of his gray shirt caught on a branch, was a young man. She was a bit surprised to see how skinny he was, and his hands looked very much discolored, but she figured it was probably just the lighting in the bushes that was playing tricks on her.

She also noticed that he was shaking, and his breathing was coming in shutters as if he were crying.

"Are you okay?" Erin found the courage to ask as she instinctively dropped her weapon.

The man lifted his ebony head, and Erin tried hard not to gape in amazement at what she saw. His face was the same color as his hands, a pale greenish yellow, and his sunken eyes were glowing yellow in the dim light. His face looked just as skinny and sunken as his form, and instead of a nose, he only had two elongated holes in its place. Her first thought: Erik. She had read many stories and comics on the web about The Phantom of the Opera's ghost being resurrected and finding happiness at last, but she had never, ever expected that to actually be possible; she didn't even think that the Phantom had existed, yet here was this man that looked exactly as she had always pictured him.

Jason had tears streaking his pale face, and his eyes stared into hers, filled with fear and shock. His surprised expression was apparent, but she dismissed this and waited for his answer. None came.

"I said," Erin repeated, "Are you okay? You look like you may need a bit of help." She gestured to his shirt.

Snapping back to reality, Jason looked over his shoulder toward his now torn shirt, and nodded. Reaching down, Erin gingerly detached the shirt from the branch and smoothed it back over his back. Jason remained stiff the whole time, flinching at her touch. His eyes remained on her.

Erin stood back up and offered him her hand. Jason hesitated, then took it. She pulled him to his feet, and the two stared at each other. Erin cleared her throat uncomfortably, then said, "Are you…er, what were you doing in the bushes?"

Jason still could not get over what he was seeing. This girl, the same girl from his dream, was here, talking to him in the flesh. He did not know what to think at the moment, other than he had to know more about her, to understand her so that maybe he would know why she appeared to him in a dream seven years ago.

Jason's hand began to throb from his cut, and he looked at it. The blood at dried, for there wasn't much, but there was purple bruising around it. He might get an infection if he didn't treat it. Erin followed his gaze, and noticed the cut.

"Oh gosh," she said, "we should treat that before it gets infected! Come on."

She took his arm and gave it a tug, but he didn't budge. Erin turned to face him, and noticed he was looking at the house on the other side of the hedge…his house.

"Is that your house?" Erin asked, realizing that he being in the bushes probably wasn't as random as she thought. Jason looked at her, then back to the house. He nodded, and Erin gently pulled him toward the back door to her house. "Don't worry, it'll just take a minute to treat that cut, then you can go back to your house. Besides, I'd like to get to know my new neighbor!" She smiled warmly, making a small part of Jason's worry melt away.

Jason thought for a moment. "It'll only be a minute," he thought, glancing over his shoulder at his house, wondering if Carrie was out of the bathroom yet, "She won't even know I was gone."


	6. Beginning of a Friendship

Jason sat at the kitchen table within the Carmody household, admiring the richly-colored trim that lined the tops of the walls. The kitchen was a painted a light orange, giving a warm feel to the room, and the cabinets and table were a rich cherry wood. There was a phrase from the Bible painted on the wall above the stove in a leafy green paint, and it seemed every single window curtain he had seen on his way inside was wide open, letting in the glorious sunlight. He never knew people opened their curtains; he thought the sole purpose of curtains was to keep the sunlight out of the house, that sunlight was only to be enjoyed while one was outside. His mother always kept the curtains shut. Some families, like this one, apparently did not see things that way.

Jason adjusted the icepack given to him to hold against his cut while the first aid kit was found. He still had no idea what the girl's name was, but he wasn't sure it was appropriate to ask. After all, she was probably only letting him inside because she was a good person; she probably was not interested in a friendship, so names were not entirely important. He would ask only if she asked him first. Only speak when spoken to is what he decided.

Soon, Erin walked briskly back into the kitchen carrying a small white box with a red cross on both sides. She sat next to Jason at the table and opened the lid, revealing several roles of gauze, disinfectant, bandages, scissors, and other assorted first aid items. Erin retrieved a large bandage, a cotton ball, and a container of hydrogen peroxide from the kit. She wet the cotton ball with the peroxide, and took the ice pack from Jason. She worked quickly, dabbing away at the cut, which began to sizzle and bubble from the affects of the chemical. Doing this, she attempted to start a conversation.

"So…" Erin began, "What is your name?"

"Jason," he replied plainly, paying closer attention to what she was doing rather than what she was saying.

"Jason…I like that name," she stated. She peeled the plastic off of the back of the bandage and placed over the cut, smoothing out the wrinkles with her fingertips. "And I'm assuming your last name is Marcel, right?"

Jason looked up, "How did you know?" he asked, curious as to how she could have known.

Erin chuckled, then said, "Well, I've met Melinda Marcel, the woman that lives in the house you said was yours, and I was assuming she was your mother…If I'm wrong, I apologize, but she looked like she might be."

Jason hadn't even thought about that. His mother has probably met all their neighbors by now, so of course she talked to this girl from across the hedge.

"Yes," Jason said, "she is my mother, and my last name is Marcel…what is your name?"

"Erin Carmody," she stated matter-of-factually, "Where did you live before you and your mom moved here?"

Jason thought for a moment. His mother had never told him the name of their previous town, nor the state in which it was in. All he knew was their street address, 1938 West Oregon, but that was all. He rubbed the smooth surface of his bandage with his forefinger nervously. "I…I don't know."

Erin looked at him strangely. "You don't know? How…I mean…why don't you know? Didn't your mother ever teach you the states or cities or anything?"

"Well no," Jason said, "But I learned them myself. It's just…I guess I was never curious about where I lived; I never knew it was important. My mother always said ignorance about things like towns and geography would keep me safe from people…I taught myself anyway from books I found in our attic…"

Jason already felt he had said too much, and he turned his head away from those large, concerned eyes that seemed to bore right into him. He felt he could trust this girl, even though he had only known her for about five minutes. It was strange; she gave the impression of someone to trust, someone who kept all secrets and would be willing to keeps yours.

Erin was still looking at him, more confused than ever. "Why wouldn't she want you to know these things? Does she want to keep you from the world or something?"

Those were bold words for her to say, but they were correct. Jason stayed silent for a moment, then nodded. Erin still did not seem to understand, but when she saw the sincere sadness in Jason's eyes, disbelief filled her own.

"That's…so sad," she said, her shoulders slumped slightly, "Why would she do that? Why would she just lock you away like that?"

Jason thought it was obvious, but he didn't mention anything. He now knew for a fact now that there was decency…there were people who cared about young men like Jason, who would treat him like family despite his deformity, even if they barely knew him, and he wanted to hold on to that. Jason heaved a sigh, then continued to tell Erin all about his life and loneliness, about how from the time he was born to present time, he had been told that the whole world was evil, especially to people like him. He had never gone outside, never felt the cool grass between his fingers or toes, and never even really seen the sun itself. He also mentioned the recent discovery that his aunt had wanted him to escape somehow, and let him go outside for the first time while his mother was away at work. Erin became even more stricken with sadness and even anger with each passing minute. When she had met Melinda, she seemed like a nice lady; she had smiled at her, complimented her on her choice of clothing that day, and had made great conversation. She had not seemed suspicious of anything like this at all. Now Erin didn't know what to think of Mrs. Marcel. She believed in loving people not for what they did, but for their motives and for who they are inside. Erin figured that Melinda must have her reasons, or at least she hoped she did, so she shook those thoughts from her mind and paid more attention to the man sitting with her at the table.

After Jason had finished, both were silent. Then, Erin sighed and said, "Well…that explained why you were in the bushes…somewhat." She smiled again, making Jason smile back. She moved on to another subject, "Well, if you are going to be coming outside more often, you are always welcome here! I'm sure my brother would love to meet you! His name is Rory, and he plays football at the college we attend together...It's called Peterson College. He's not here right now because he has classes today, and my parents are working, but maybe you can come back when everyone is home and-"

Jason watched her go on about how he should visit more often and meet her family. "She really is talkative," he thought. He liked the idea that someone not only listened to him as she did, but that someone cared enough to talk to him about themselves, too. He also enjoyed her expressiveness, how she raise her eyebrows when accenting a word or phrase, and how she enunciated when trying to make a point. Erin stopped herself eventually, embarrassed at having gone on talking so much as she did.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I have a bad habit of talking too much…I get it from my dad. He's from Ireland, you know! When he was ten, he…" She covered her mouth, stopping a string of words that was sure to erupt. Jason chuckled at her modesty, and she giggled as well. Another silence followed, both people ceasing to talk and both silently enjoying each others company. Erin looked at the apple-shaped clock on the wall and realized they had been talking for nearly twenty minutes, much longer than she had thought.

"What time do you need to be home?" she asked Jason, who looked at the clock as well. It read 8:15AM.

"Oh no!" He jumped up out of his chair and headed for the back door, "My aunt Carrie would have been out of the shower long ago! She'll be worried about me if she sees I'm no longer in the backyard!"

He yanked open the door and jogged across the yard and through the hedges, Erin at his heels.

"Wait!" she called, waving her arms as she stopped at the hedge row, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

"I'll try!" he yelled back from the other side of the hedge.

"Good! Meet me in the same spot!"

Jason ran up to his bedroom window, which he had neglected to close. Paying no attention, he carefully but quickly slid back into the basement and shut and latched the window. He ran up the stairs to find his aunt just walking down the stairs to the second story, her hair still wet.

"Oh, hi Jason! Sorry, I probably took longer than I thought I would…The knob in the shower was stuck, so I had to fix it up before actually taking my shower. How was your little endeavor?" she said this last part with a wink.

Jason was relieved that he had not kept her waiting, and told her it was nice, and that he would like to do it more often. He saw her eyes wonder down to his bandaged hand, and he immediately hid it behind his back. He didn't want to tell her about his meeting with Erin…not yet, anyway. But Carrie had already noticed, and her brow furrowed.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" she asked, "And where did you get that bandage? I didn't think your mother bought that kind."

"I…," Jason tried to come up with something to say that was as close to the truth as possible without lying, but he could not. He despised lying. Even when he had told his mother about having lost sleep because of a cat, it made him feel rotten, so he told himself not to do it again. "I…It's nothing." He felt as though he just received a punch to the gut.

Carrie placed her hands on her hips, noticing his eyes averting hers and his weight shifting from foot to foot…a true sign of dishonesty. "Jason, don't hide things from me. Do you honestly think you can keep these kinds of things from me after our little arrangement? Now tell me how you got that cut, and no fibs!"

Jason sighed, realizing that his aunt would believe nothing but the absolute truth. He had to tell her about how he met Erin, who for some reason showed compassion for him, a mere stranger, and had brought him inside her home with no one else inside. Now that he thought of that, he wondered how someone could be so trusting of a dead-looking man that had been hiding in the bushes of their backyard. He was interrupted from his thoughts when Carrie cleared her throat, waiting for answers.

Jason brought her into the living room and told her all that had happened since he arrived in the backyard. He told her that he was not trying to make contact with anyone and that he even tried to escape the bushes before he was discovered, but he really did not have a choice. He also told Carrie about the dream from seven years ago, and how he could not help but be curious about Erin. He also mentioned how Erin wanted him back tomorrow – same time, same place. Carrie sat listening intently the entire time, her expression emotionless. When he finished, he hung his head, ashamed that he had blown his cover after just one day of secret freedom. Carrie, however, did not seem angry, nor did she seem disappointed. Her face could not be read, and this worried Jason. After what seemed like an hour, she said, "Okay…this probably isn't as bad as it seems…we'll just play it out and see how it goes. She obviously seems to see you as an interesting person, and someone to be a friend to her, as well. I don't see why you two can't visit…as long we are the only three that know…" she paused, "…we can be sure she won't tell anyone, right?"

Jason had not thought about that. What if she tells her parents, and they become concerned? They will probably march over here to demand information from Melinda, who will in turn be caught in a very sticky situation.

Although this was a strong possibility, Jason just shook his head. "I don't think she would do that. Erin seems very trustworthy, and I have a feeling she knows as well as we do just how fragile the situation is…she can be trusted."

Carrie was not completely reassured, but she nodded her understanding anyway, and they went their separate ways – Carrie to the kitchen to do the breakfast dishes, and Jason to his room to wind down a bit after his interesting morning. Downstairs, he flopped down on his bed, staring at the beige ceiling. If he were Erin, he would not have trusted a stranger in his house, especially one that looked so…so different. But for some reason, this mysterious girl had treated him as a nurse would treat a patient – making them feel welcome and giving a warm impression. He learned these qualities from his aunt, who followed them every single day at work, no matter how stressful he day was. Maybe Erin did see past his face and into his inner being. Maybe she saw him as a friend immediately, almost like how he did when he dreamed of her all those years ago…at least he was pretty sure he had dreamed of Erin. Who else could it have been? The similarities were striking. As soon as he saw her face while hiding in the hedge, everything somehow fit together.

He soon fell asleep, needing to catch up after his week of sleepless nights and silent melancholy, Erin's face in his mind. He could remember every detail – the roundness of her chin, her olive skin, her barely crooked smile – he pictured it all, and it stuck with him in his sleep. Even though he his slumber was dreamless, she was still visible through his mind's eye.

Erin had gone back inside after her farewell to Jason and went up to her room to lie down. The fact that this man she had just met was basically a photo copy of the main character from one of her favorite novels was unreal and slightly overwhelming, and she needed to rest her mind –she needed to, but it was impossible. Her thoughts went racing back and forth. She kicked herself for letting him into the house so quickly; he could have easily been mad, as Erik was in "Phantom," and become obsessed just from her hospitality. No, she thought, he didn't seem like that kind. Erin did not see that lost and empty look in his eyes that she saw when looking in the eyes of a deranged or insane person (she had seen a few on reality TV shows her brother watched, and the sight mad her heart ache). Instead, she saw a pair of the most intelligent and alert eyes she had ever seen. They were an unusual color, she had to admit, but they had a sense of vast knowledge, and seemed to beg you to stare into them, to allow the iridescence of the yellow irises to blind you.

There was also innocence to them that Erin couldn't recall ever seeing in someone of Jason's age. It's as if all this knowledge and wisdom was trapped behind a pair of child's eyes. She couldn't quite make sense of it all. Reaching over to her night stand, she grabbed her sketchbook. Flipping back a few pages, she looked over some sketches she had done that summer of Leroux's version of the Phantom that she hadn't looked at since finishing – some in a younger form, others at the age he was in the book, which would have been at least forty or fifty…perhaps even sixty. She looked carefully at her version of a younger Erik, and it looked almost exactly like Jason. She had drawn her version with longer hair, but otherwise everything was almost identical.

Other questions entered her mind – How old is Jason, anyway? Is he interested in the same things as Erik was? Do they both possess a passion for art and music?

Art and music…two qualities she would hope a friend would have a love for; a friend to share these with. Other than her general curiosity of Jason's background in connection with "The Phantom of the Opera," she wondered it somehow their lives overlapped for a reason. She wondered if perhaps they were both searching for something that they were only meant to receive from each other. Perhaps it was him who was to be her savior, to be the one to share in her music. But what, she wondered, was he to gain from her? Perhaps it was a friend in general. He had never had a friend from the sound of it, so maybe it was her friendship she had to give in return for his. Was it that simple? Erin could not think of anything else.

Jason and Erin both spent the day by themselves, anxious and excited for the next day to come so that they may meet again. Both yearning to know more about the other, they fell asleep that night thinking of what the other may be like. Does he have allergies? Does she enjoy music? Who is his father? What is her brother like?

The wait seemed much too long.


	7. A Connection

The next day, Jason awoke early, scarfed down his breakfast, kissed his mother goodbye, and raced back down to his room to get dressed.

"What's got into him?" Melinda asked Carrie with a laugh while pulling on her light blue jacket.

"Probably excited for the day," Carrie replied with a smile, "I told him I would give him some pointers with his piccolo…I used to play one in marching band, you know."

Melinda chuckled, then was out the door. As soon as her SUV had disappeared around the bend, Carrie waited five minutes, then she knocked on the basement door three times, letting Jason know Melinda was gone.

Jason acknowledged the knocking, and knocked three times himself as an answer. He rushed to bathroom to wash up for the day and comb his hair. After brushing his teeth, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain, dark green hooded sweatshirt. He walked upstairs and joined Carrie in the living room, where she gave him a short pep talk before sending him on his way.

"Here is my cell phone," she said, handing him the small electronic device, "If for some reason your mother calls and is on her way home early, I'll give you a call, and you had better get your rear end back over here pronto, got it?" Jason nodded quickly, itching to get to the backyard. Hugging his aunt, he made his way to the sliding doors in the back. Slowly opening them, he slid out and crouched on the ground, Carrie shutting the doors behind him. She watched as he walked with his body bent forward and down at the hips to the hedge and disappeared through a small opening that she could not see from where she was standing.

"Good luck, kiddo," she breathed, turning and walking back to the living room.

Erin was just where she said she would be. She was wearing a bright yellow jacket with matching ball-shaped earrings. Her jeans were a darker shade than the ones she wore the day before, and she wore a pair of comfy slip-on shoes.

"There you are," Erin said with a grin as Jason stumbled slightly out of the brush. He dusted himself off with an embarrassed smile, and Erin uncrossed her arms and walked over. "I was almost afraid you wouldn't come!"

"Why would I not come? You asked me to come back, didn't you?"

"Well yeah, but…you know we just met yesterday, so I wasn't sure if it would be awkward or not…but I guess I'm kind of making it awkward, aren't I?" She faked a light laugh, and Jason cracked a grin. There was that reoccurring silence that happened between them. It was not uncomfortable in the least to Jason, for he was still basking in the actual reality of having someone besides his family to spend time with now, and he did not think talking was all too necessary. However, the silence was really weighing down on Erin, so she had to somehow make conversation.

"Sure is chilly today, isn't it?" Erin said, rubbing both arms with her hands, "Would you like to go inside? My brother is home, and I'm sure he would like to meet you." She made her way toward the back door to the two-story house with Jason at her heels.

"You didn't tell him about me yet, did you?" Jason said uncertainly, "or anyone else for that matter?"

"No," she replied, opening the back door, "I actually didn't think about telling anyone until today, and I wasn't sure if you would even come back or not, so I waited until a few minutes ago to tell my brother that I was expecting someone."

Jason grabbed the door, allowing Erin to walk in first. Surprised, she thanked him, and they made their way inside. Erin had him sit at the kitchen table while she went to get her brother. Jason could understand why she wanted to bring Rory in herself, since Jason's appearance would probably be a shock and she would have to explain that to her brother before the meeting.

Twiddling his thumbs, and heard Erin's footsteps bound up unseen stairs, then she heard the muffled voices of her and who he assumed to be her brother. Jason figured they must be fairly close considering how much Erin spoke of him. He wondered if he was older or younger than her. They couldn't be too many years apart since they attended college together. In fact, how old was Erin? He would have to ask when he got the chance.

Jason heard two sets of footsteps walking down stairs, and he saw Erin's face appear first around the corner. Then a tall, muscular young man came around the corner, his hair slightly damp. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt that showed off his toned biceps and forearms, and he had on a pair of red mesh shorts with a black stripe down the side of each leg. Jason couldn't believe how much he looked like Erin. They both had the same hair and eyes that were the shade of tree bark, and both had long, shapely faces. Their noses and mouths were even similar.

As soon as Rory laid eyes on Jason, immediate surprise took over his features. His face seemed to contort a bit as if he was trying not to look so incredulous, but it did not help. Jason averted the man's eyes, suddenly embarrassed to have caused such a reaction. He heard Erin whisper something in Rory's ear, and when he looked up, Rory was walking towards him, a smile on his face and his beefy hand outstretched.

"Hey, man! My name's Rory, and as you probably know I'm Erin's brother! Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

Jason took hold of Rory's large, muscular hand with his slender one, and found the force of the shake to be enough to break his hand if he was not careful. "Jason," he said, "Jason Marcel."

"Jason, eh?" Rory said, rubbing his whiskered chin, "Well, I'm sure we'll come to be acquainted very well, what with you befriending my little sister, and all."

"So he is older," Jason thought to himself. He noticed Erin roll her eyes.

"Little sister? I beg to differ. You're only older by five minutes, Rory, so that hardly makes me much littler than you." Rory gave her a playful punch in the arm, and she punched him back…harder. He yelped slightly and commenced to rubbing his arm, feigning a hurt arm and sticking out his bottom lip, to which Erin faked a charming grin.

"Wait…so you two are twins?" Jason asked.

"Yup!" they said in unison, showing off their identical smiles. The thought of twins had never crossed Jason's mind. He had heard of twins from stories his aunt told him about her life in the hospital. The idea that a woman could have more than one baby at a time fascinated him, and he was even more astonished when Carrie told him about triplets, quadruplets…even quintuplets. Those cases were even more rare, but they still occurred.

"So you say you two are five minutes apart," Jason said, "which brings me to wonder…How old are you? When were you born?"

Erin spoke first. "We were born on December 21…"

"And we're twenty-one years old!" Rory cut in. "What about you?"

"I just turned twenty-two last Saturday…September 23."

"Well, I'll be darned…we're almost the same age!" Rory gave Jason a slap on the back that would have sent him sprawling on the floor if he had not seen it coming. Jason instead gave a violent lurch forward and grunted slightly. Rory held up his hands. "Sorry, man…Guess I don't know my own strength!"

Rory turned back to his sister and smirked. "I guess this still makes Erin the youngest of our little trio, huh Sis?"

Erin tried to give her brother another playful punch, but Rory grabbed her small wrist before her fist made contact with his upper arm. She wrenched it away and crossed her arms, acting as though she were irritated when her eyes showed she was obviously amused. Rory laughed, then looked at the clock. "Sorry guys, but I have to leave for practice!" He looked toward Jason. "See you after I get back?"

Jason looked toward Erin, who said, "I don't think so…I have band after lunchtime, remember? Then I have to head over to the fine arts building for my art class…I won't be back until evening, and by then Jason will probably have to be home for dinner," She turned toward Jason. "Sorry, but you'll have to be home by lunchtime today. However, you can stay as long as you like tomorrow! I'm totally free."

Jason nodded in understanding, tickled that she was inviting him back a second time. Rory said his farewells, planted a kiss on the top of Erin's head, and headed out the door with his gym bag swung over his shoulder.

Erin plopped down in one of the chairs near the one Jason was in. "There is so much I want to know about you! I should probably start with asking what kind things you're interested in."

Jason was surprised how quickly she pounced on him with questions about his personal life. Seeing as she was waiting patiently for an answer, he cleared his throat. "Well, my main interest is music…" At this, something in Erin's face changed, and she leaned forward slightly with visibly growing interest. He continued. "…I enjoy composing, playing, and sometimes I sing, but not often. I also like magic tricks…would you like me to show you one?"

Erin nodded enthusiastically, so Jason instructed her to fetch a tissue. She hopped up and disappeared around the corner and soon returned with a Kleenex. Jason held up his hands to show that they contained nothing, then he balled up his left hand into a fist and turned it so the thumb side was facing towards the ceiling. He used his right thumb to stuff the tissue into his hand, then he turned his fist over so his bony knuckles were facing upwards. Erin watched intently as he tapped his fist three times with his other hand. Then Jason opened his fist and held both hands up – the tissue was gone.

Erin's jaw dropped, and she craned her neck to look at all different angles of his hands to see where the tissue could have gone. "How in the world did you do that?" she said. "Where did it go?"

Jason crossed his arms and held his head high, a satisfied smile on his face. "A good magician never reveals his secrets," he said. "But that's not all – look in that drawer over there, the third one down under the sink."

Erin gaped at him with disbelief, but she got up and walked slowly over to the drawer anyway. She opened it and immediately threw her head back and laughed aloud. There, folded neatly on top of the forks, was the tissue.

"I'm not even going to ask!" she exclaimed, sitting back down at the table. "You really are something, my friend!"

Friend. She was referring Jason as a friend. Jason felt a warmth inside that he had never felt before, and he could not help but grin even more than he already was.

"So you say you're also in to music," Erin changed the subject, suddenly becoming more serious. "What kind of music do you play, and on what instrument?"

"I play violin and piano, and I write my own music most of the time, but I like to listen to the Symphonic Orchestra and opera CDs my mother gives me and play whatever is on those."

Erin looked at him quizzically. "So you can write your own music…and play by ear?"

Jason shrugged. "I guess, if that is how you put it. That's just the way it's always been for me, ever since I was little. I heard a song, and if I like it, I played it on the piano, and later the violin. There was always music in my head, too. It seemed to beg to be written down, so that's exactly what I did. When I was finished, I played it, and sometimes I added my own cadenzas and flourishes to make it more fun. My father was a pianist…a great one. He had several books that explained musical structures and the history of music. My mother said that he owned them because he was a teacher at a college, so those books were for renting out to his students." Jason sighed sadly. "I just wish I could have met him...he died before I was born."

Erin felt tears burning in the back of her eyes. She could not even comprehend what it must be like for a parent to die before you were born, and to never meet them. Both her parents were alive and well, and she had never really had anyone close to her die. She scooted her chair closer to Jason's and patted him on the back. He turned to her and gave her a smile of thanks.

"Tell me about you," Jason said as Erin removed her hand from his back.

"Well, as it happens," she said, "I'm a musician too! I don't have a very strong voice, so singing is out of the question…" Jason begged to differ; she sounded fine when he heard her humming just moments before they had met the day before. "…but I play flute for college band. I also play the oboe, but that's only for when I'm in a pit orchestra, or something. I also play piccolo for marching band."

"Wait, you play the piccolo?" Jason said.

"Yeah…why?"

"I forgot to mention…I had wanted to learn a new instrument for some time, so my mother gave me a piccolo for my birthday. I haven't gotten around to even trying to play it yet, but maybe you could give me a few pointers? That way I can learn faster."

"Really? Wow, what an honor! Of course I'll help you out!" She clapped her hands in excitement. "But we'll have to save that for tomorrow because we are limited on time today. Just curious, but why is it that you've been waiting all this time to start playing the piccolo after you got it? From the sound if it, I thought you would have been excited about a new instrument."

Jason shrugged. "I had a lot on my mind…You see, I also received this book from my aunt called "The Phantom of the Opera," and after I read this certain part…"

"The part where you read what Erik looked like?" Jason whipped his head around to look at Erin, who was staring at him with a knowing look. "So she had read the book too?" he thought to himself.

"You've read it?" Jason asked her, bewildered.

Erin nodded. "It's one of my favorites. I first read it for a project in high school, and I had always kind of wondered whether or not someone like Erik could even exist, but when I met you…" She stopped there for a split second. "My mind opened up, and now I really want to know more about you and Erik, and if there is some sort of connection." She turned her head toward her lap, where her hands were clasped together. "That's basically the reason I wanted you to come back, so I might have a chance of learning more. I thought maybe you would know something that I didn't." She stopped there and looked back up at Jason, who was still staring at her. There was a long moment of silence as Jason tired to process what was going on, then he spoke:

"It's as if…you're a mind reader," He mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Erin said, puzzled.

"I read that book on the night of my birthday, cover to cover, staying up half the night," he began. "I couldn't stop. Once I discovered Erik, I had to keep reading, to find some sort of clue. What kind of clue, I wasn't sure, but I wanted answers. All I got was more uncanny information about him, that he was a musician as I was, that he was also a magician, and that he had learned everything from a young age as I did…" he paused, realizing his fists were balled under the table. "I spent the last week with little sleep and I was unable to eat a decent meal; I sank into depression knowing I could never know for sure whether or not Erik and I are connected, for my mother deprived me of internet use and I was never to go outside, to have freedom. Carrie, bless her, gave me a chance to have a taste of freedom, and that's when I met you." Jason stopped there, letting his words take effect.

Erin brought her hand to her chin, her other resting beneath her elbow. "This can't be a coincidence," she said. Jason was confused on what she meant by that. She was thinking intently now, as he could see. He wondered what could be on her mind.

"Okay," Erin said finally, slapping both her palms down on the table. "You want to know whether or not you and Erik are connected, right? As in 'are you related?'" Jason hesitated, then nodded. "And I want to know whether or not he really existed, so we're both kind of on the same page here. Well, I say in that case, we can help each other out! I have actually tried to do research before on this particular subject, but failed due to lack of information," She pointed at Jason. "But you can help me out with that. My uncle Cedrick is a genealogist and has taught me everything he knows; I even have an account on an Ancestry website. All I need is a few names, provided by you, and we can trace your family tree back to when "The Phantom of the Opera" took place to see if Erik really existed and/or if you two are related." Erin was now standing and had been pacing while she talked. Jason wondered if this was another habit of hers that went along with talking a bunch. "In turn, you will also receive the information you desire, making this a win-win…what do you say?"

Jason was taken aback by how simple she made it all sound. He was just a couple paces away from finding out an ideal piece of information that may change the way he looked at his life, information that may change his life forever. He stood and held out his hand to Erin, who had stopped pacing and was facing him. "Looks like piccolo lessons will have to wait," he said. Erin smiled and clasped his hand in hers, shaking it.

"Wow," Erin said. "I can't believe this is happening." The feeling is mutual, thought Jason. "I mean, if we find out that Erik was a real, living human being, and you are his descendant…" She looked into Jason's eyes. "…this could be a pretty big discovery, don't you think?"

"There she goes," thought Jason, watching with a content smile as Erin began to gabber on about the possible outcomes of their mission. He looked down and noticed that her hands were still latched on to his. She had long, thin fingers with short nails, and there were a few small scratches and colored stains on them. He wondered what the stains could be from, so he stopped her talking and asked.

"Oh, those?" she said, taking her hands from his and looking at them as if searching for an answer. "I like to paint a lot…you could say I'm a bit of a misunderstood artist." She said this with a small shrug.

"What do you mean by 'misunderstood?'" asked Jason.

"Well," Erin said, rubbing her left forearm with her right hand. "I've always loved to draw and paint, but no one ever appreciated my work besides my family. In school, I draw what the teacher expects, and I am praised for it, but when someone happens to see my sketchbook, they always ask 'What's that supposed to be?' and 'Who is that?' They expect me to draw someone that exists or paint something obvious, but that's not my style. I like to make up people and paint them doing what they like, even if it is physically impossible; I like to draw random creatures that would probably come from a video game or fantasy story…or from some nonexistent planet. People don't 'get' my work, so it is always shunned…Therefore, I'm misunderstood."

Erin again felt a burning sensation in her eyes, but fought to keep it back. She almost wished she would have just dropped the subject and not mentioned her artwork, but she knew it always felt better to express her feelings…just so long as she didn't cry. 'A Carmody never cries' is what she had come to understand. Her father did not even shed a tear when his forearm snapped almost in half when he fell from their roof. Rory stayed sober even when his finger was jammed in a locked car door, costing him his middle fingernail. Erin was told that her mother only shed one tear while giving birth to Rory and Erin, but otherwise let out screams piercing enough to break glass.

"May I see some of your work?" Jason asked.

Erin almost refused, but then she realized how impolite that would be. She left the room and hurried up the stairs and down the hallway to her bedroom, where her sketchbook lay on her desk. Once back in the kitchen, she laid the book in front of Jason, who opened it and began to look through the pages, absolutely silent.

Erin's fingers began to fidget, a habit that had developed when she was very young. It only happened when she was nervous or angry. In this case, she was nervous. She bit her lip as she watched Jason take long looks at each page, examining them carefully. He reached the last picture, the one of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom that was now complete, and closed the book slowly, handing it back to Erin. She could not read the look on his face, but she figured he had seen the picture of Leroux's Erik she had drawn. She started slightly as he cleared his throat, then said, "Were those pictures of Erik?"

Erin picked at her fingernails for no apparent reason. "Yes…I thought that he was interesting, so…I drew different pictures of what I thought he would have looked like." Erin hung her head. "I know, they aren't the best – you probably don't care for any of them, really…"

"How could you say that?" Jason cut in. His voice contained a slight edge that startled Erin. "Erin…these are fantastic…if not phenomenal! You really are an artist! Even I, being the perfectionist I am, couldn't do better myself! You truly have a gift, and don't deny it."

Erin was stunned by how sincere he sounded. Not even her brother had ever made such an impact with just a few sentences like that. Once again, her eyes began to burn, only this time her vision went blurry. He covered her mouth with her hand to choke back a sob, then without caring what Jason thought, flung her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Jason was certainly caught off guard by this random act of affection, but it did not bother him in the least. He had always loved hugs, ever since he was a baby. They him fell so safe, warm…wanted.

"Thank you," Erin whispered in order to prevent her voice from cracking. "You don't know how much that means to me…Thank you!"

Jason smiled, knowing from her voice how hard she was trying to not get emotional. He wrapped his arms around her as well, and said, "You're welcome."

After the tender moment, they both stood. "Well," said Erin with a light sniff, "We should probably get started, shouldn't we…with the ancestry website?" Jason nodded, and Erin led their way down the hallway and to the left of the kitchen area to the starch white computer room. She pulled up an extra chair for Jason to sit in and turned on the monitor. Immediately, a plain red log-in screen came into view with an icon shaped like a white letter "P", and Erin typed a long set of figures into the box below, so fast that Jason wondered if she even knew what she was typing. The main screen popped up, and a handsome picture of a young family popped up. They all had brown hair except for the woman, who had fiery red hair. They all had brown eyes. Jason could not tell whose family it was at first, then he noticed the pair of grinning, brunette toddlers, and the familiar girl with an enormous bow in her curly hair.

Erin noticed him looking, and blushed slightly. "That's our family picture from when Rory and I were three…I look pretty silly, huh?"

Jason shook his head. "I think you're adorable…Rory too." He noted Rory's bowl cut and missing front tooth. He looked at the young man and woman in the picture. "I'm assuming those are your parents?"

"Yup!" Erin pointed to the woman with the long, frizzy red hair and Erin's nose. "My mom's name is Evelyn…" She motioned to the mustached man, "…and my dad's name is Patrick. Like I mentioned to you already, he's from Ireland. My mom is pretty much All-American with a bit of Swedish."

She clicked a tab, blocking out the picture with a white screen that soon turned into Google homepage. Jason watched with fascination as she briskly typed 'the website name into the address bar, and the page popped up quickly. She typed in her log in name and password, and they were in. Jason had never imagined the internet looking like this; Erin made it look so simple.

"Okay," Erin said as she brought up a search box with several spaces for information. "Let's type in your name first."

After typing in all of Jason's information, Erin clicked 'search' and a page of records was brought up. There were about eighty-five results, but some were visibly different from the others, having a different birth date than the one entered, or a different spelling of the name.

"Why would it do that?" Jason asked.

Erin shrugged. "I guess it was programmed that way to cover as wide of a range of records as possible."

Erin clicked a button that said ADVANCED SEARCH and began asking Jason more in-depth, specific information. This time, there were fewer results, about forty-one, and they were much more exact. They went through each of them, one by one, to see if everything was exact. Jason could not believe there were this many men in the world with his first and last name, and it were even more unfathomable that some even shared his middle name, as well. Erin did about two more advanced searches, and ten names ended up popping up on the screen. Just as she was about to click on the first, the living room clock could be heard chiming eleven.

"Oh no!" Erin groaned. "I have to be at the college in half an hour. I guess we'll have to continue tomorrow!"

She saved the page into Bookmarks and closed out of the screen. Shutting off the monitor, she led the way out of the room, Jason shutting of the light.

Outside, they said their farewells, and Jason ducked under the hedge and into his own backyard. Sighing, Erin went back inside the house and up the stairs to get her things together for class. Moving almost mechanically, she packed up her piccolo and marching music and grabbed her car keys without really realizing what she was doing. She was too busy thinking about Jason and their little "endeavor" they had just embarked on; she also found herself thinking about what he said about her work. "Does he really mean that?" she thought. She did not know why she was doubting it when he had looked her straight in the eyes when he said it…he even seemed a bit shocked at her modesty.

Erin locked the front door as if by habit while pulling on her coat, and she walked down the front steps to her gray car. She opened the door to the driver's side and ducked inside, but not before she heard footsteps. She ignored them, knowing that they were probably the feet of a late-morning walker. As soon as she shut her car door, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud knocking at her window. Whipping her head around furiously, her stomach dropped when she saw who it was.

There, leaning down in front of the window and waving flirtatiously, was Ryan Lancaster. He had been flirting with her for months, but Erin had always acted oblivious. He was probably the most sought-after guy in Peterson College by the girls, and it was not hard to see why: Athletic, perfect blonde hair, handsome face, dazzling smile – but he was also cocky, selfish, and had a very crude sense of humor, things that Erin despised in a guy. He was also a total flirt, which added to Erin's list of things she disliked about him, but was something that the girls at college loved for reasons Erin could not put her finger on. She had a boyfriend once, but decided the relationship negatively affected her striving towards her dreams, and the guy never got used to her eccentricity, so they broke it off, but were still somewhat friends. Erin wanted nothing more than to back out of the driveway, whether she ran over his toes or not, but logic got the better of her. She rolled down the window and managed a polite smile. "Why am I always so nice to him?" she scolded herself.

"Hey there, Erin!" Ryan said, flashing one of his dashing smiles. "I was out for my daily run and figured I'd take a detour in case you were still home. Looks like I caught you in the nick of time!"

"Yeah…fabulous," thought Erin with disgust. She cleared her throat. "Well, uh…it certainly was nice of you to stop by. I'd better get to band now, so have a nice run!"

She began rolling up the window, but Ryan stopped her. "Hey! I was wondering… if you aren't too busy tomorrow, maybe we could get together! Lunch is on me! What do you say?"

This was his first actually invitation for a meal date, but Erin knew it would inevitably come sooner or later. "Sorry, but um…I have plans with a friend tomorrow! It's kind of important, so…"

"Oh really? What friend?"

"Oh, you wouldn't know him, he's from…"

"He…?"

His smile became suddenly forced, and the pupils in his gray eyes seemed to dilate. His gaze became unnerving for Erin, so she tried to make a hasty conclusion and spoke quickly.

"Yeah, he's just a good friend of mine from out of town, and I'm helping him with a genealogy project. I promised him we would spend the day on it tomorrow, but really, Ryan, I have to get to class!"

Ryan reluctantly backed off, but painfully slow, keeping his suspicious gaze. He nodded.

"I understand," he said dryly. "Tell him I'd like to meet him sometime. Who knows? We could become great friends!" He faked a smile, saluted Erin, and then jogged off in the opposite direction from which he came. "Yeah…friends," he mumbled to himself, jealousy brewing within.

Erin huffed and slouched down in her seat, exhausted from her attempt to keep her temper under control from just the mere presence of this unwanted company. Sitting up, she rolled up her window and hastily backed out of the driveway, driving her usual route to the band hall.

"I sure hope Jason doesn't have to meet this nuisance," Erin grumbled.

Jason entered his home through the sliding doors and made his way into the living room. Carrie, who had said she would be cleaning up the kitchen while he was gone, was on the couch, the home phone in her ear and flipping through television channels. He retrieved Carrie's cell phone from his pocket and set it next to her on the couch. She turned and mouthed "thank you," then smiled and went back to flipping TV stations.

Jason walked down stairs in a dream-like manner; never in his life did he think the day would come when he would actually have the nerve to venture outside, to risk the chance that someone may find him – and if his mother was right, that person would probably do him great harm. But he risked it, and it paid off. He made a friend, a friend of his very own to count on and to spend time with. They had just met the day before, but they had hit it off so quickly…it was hard to imagine them apart now. The fact that he was just a few paces from discovering the true existence of the Phantom that shared his supposedly unique condition was almost not as important as this new and sudden friendship. There was something about Erin that really drew his attention, but he was not sure what exactly that was, and the feeling it gave him was completely foreign.

Was it her talkative nature?

Is it the fact they share a love for music?

Was it just Erin in general?

Jason fell backwards onto his mattress, letting his body hit the bed with a muffled thud and lightly bounce with the impact. He felt as though trying to stop thinking about her was a chore in itself, so he did not even try. It actually kept him content. After lunch, he picked up his piccolo for the first time and asked Carrie to teach him the notes. She drew out the fingerings on paper and told him how to read them, then she left him to decipher them, knowing he would have them mastered by dinnertime.

Jason loved the piccolo. He actually exceeded Carrie's expectations and had the fingerings memorized by three-thirty in the afternoon. He had begun writing a small etude for the piccolo part when a brilliant idea struck him: He should write a duet. He had written only one before, but did not write any more because there was no one to play with. Now he had that someone he was looking for. If Erin and he decide to take a break from the ancestral search, they could play it together, if Erin would like.

Jason decided he would give himself second part since Erin had received much more experience than he. His mind played through what she might sound like when she played. He noticed that each musician he has heard from CDs has had a slightly different tone in their instrument from the next. One may have a faster vibrato, while another has a more open sound. When he played, he did not know whether it sounded different or not; he just played to play. He made sure he was in tune and in tone, of course, but he never paid attention to his style. He got lost in his music, so the thought had never occurred to him.

Only pausing for dinner, he worked endlessly on the duet, wanting it to be as perfect as any etude he had ever written. When it was finished, he was satisfied with his work, and excited to show Erin. He hoped she would like it – he was sure she would like it. If he had everything his way, she would absolutely love it. Jason found it very peculiar that the affection from a person who is not family had an impact on his heart that was so different in comparison to affection from family. It was a mystery he was not sure he would ever solve, but one that he was vaguely surprised that he did not care much to know.

Yawning, he kicked off his shoes, which he had left on all afternoon and evening without realizing it, and climbed under the covers of his bed, turning out the lamp beside him. Closing his eyes, welcome sleep washed over his eyelids almost immediately, and he did not stir for the entire night. It was his first real, great sleep in over a week.


	8. Unexpected Happenings

Carrie sat in the living room, reading a magazine under the lamplight. She glanced at the clock – it was nine-thirty. She had not realized she had stayed up this late. Still so used to her odd hours at the hospital, her body could not tell what time it was. It may be three in the morning and she will have as much energy as if it were noon. She closed the magazine, set it down on the end table, and turned off the lamp. She let her eyes adjust to the dark room before heading through the kitchen to go upstairs. As she walked past the basement door, she paused, and reached for the knob. Opening the door as quietly as possible, she crept downstairs and knocked softly at the second door. No answer. Listening for a moment for any sort of noise, she turned the knob and eased the door open a crack.

The room was pitch dark save for the moonlight seeping through the basement window. Jason was fast asleep, the sheets pulled around his chin. Carrie tip-toed over to the side of the bed and brushed back a lock of Jason's hair from his forehead. She smiled; he looked so peaceful. She could only imagine how he must feel at this point in time; having made a friend so quickly and unexpectedly, and having that person accept him so well. That would be pure bliss for someone who has spent all their life inside. Looking at his features in the dark, Carrie began to think about her sister's reasoning for keeping her only son locked away. It did make some sense when she really thought about it; Jason's condition was extremely rare and perhaps the first of its kind, and his skeletal, pale appearance may be disturbing to some. It certainly was to her when he was first born, although she did well with hiding it and quickly got over it once she held him in her arms for the first time. Still, she strongly believed that her nephew deserved a better life than the one he had, so she was proud of her decision to let him go outside and allowing him to meet Erin every day. Perhaps Erin may be able to help them since she obviously had taken a liking to him.

Carrie lightly kissed Jason's forehead, causing him to stir in his sleep, but not wake. Carrie quietly made her way back upstairs and then to the second story where her room was. When she opened the door, she nearly jumped a foot off the ground when she saw Melinda sitting in the chair by the window, looking at her.

Carrie laughed. "Melinda, you scared me half to death! Mind giving me some warning next time?"

Melinda grinned. "I couldn't sleep, so I came in to check on you. You weren't here, so I just decided to read a book and wait for you." She held up the book as if to prove she was really reading the entire time. Carrie sighed and walked over to her bed. She sat down on the side that was closest to Melinda. "Okay, what is it you want to tell me that you don't want Jason to hear?" she said.

"What made you think I wanted something that concerned Jason?" Melinda asked.

"Because you did this all the time when we were kids," Carrie laughed. "You would come into my room and wait for me if you had something to share that wasn't for our parents ears. I was like your own living diary for when you wanted to talk about school drama and friends!"

Melinda rolled her eyes. "Okay, you caught me!" She stood and walked over to Carrie, taking a seat next to her on the bed. "I wanted to thank you for what you are doing. Jason really needs someone to spend time with during the day while I'm gone, and I waited for you to come up because I didn't want him to think I invited you over just for that purpose, because you know I did not. Even if it's for a short time, it makes him so happy. You won't believe what a change I have seen in him since you came! Ever since we moved here, he had been so melancholy and quiet. Now, he has someone to spend time with while I'm gone!" Carrie tried to keep from showing any reaction to the irony that Melinda was oblivious to. Sure, he had someone to spend time with – it just was not Carrie.

"It's really no problem, Linda," Carrie said, taking her sister's hand and giving it a small squeeze.

Melinda smiled, then got up and made her way towards the door. She turned around when she reached the doorway. "Goodnight, Carrie."

"'Night," Carrie replied with a smile. Melinda walked out of the room and down the hallway to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Carrie's smile immediately faded, and was replaced by her lower lip slipping in between her teeth. Melinda really trusted her, and she was pretty much betraying her by what she was allowing Jason to do. She was not sure how much longer Jason and she could keep hiding.

She crawled into bed and pulled the white sheets up underneath her chin. With her uncovered hand she turned off the lamp at her bedside and rolled over to try and go to sleep. She was unsuccessful. She turned to her other side so that she was looking towards the chair where Melinda had been sitting. She doubted Melinda would forgive her if she found out about Jason and his friendship with Erin, but what was done was done; nothing could be changed now.

Jason opened his still heavy eyelids, letting them adjust to morning sunlight seeping into his dim room. He sat up and stretched out his limbs, yawning. He looked over at the clock – it was eight-twenty.

He gasped and bolted out of bed to the bathroom. He had slept in much later than normal, and he should have been at Erin's house by now. She was probably wondering if he was even coming at all.

He scrubbed furiously at his hair in the shower and barely got himself dried before he began pulling on his jeans with one hand. He tossed the towel onto his bed while grabbing a gray t-shirt out of his dresser and pulling it over his still wet head. Grabbing his hooded sweatshirt, he sped up the stairs and around the corner to the back door, where Carrie was already standing.

"Better hurry!" she said, handing him her cell phone. He nodded his thanks briefly and sprinted across the yard before disappearing into the hedge, neglecting to put on his sweatshirt.

He crashed through the bushes, and was dismayed to see that Erin was not there. Breathing hard, he looked around the yard in panic, wondering if she had forgotten. Just then, the back door to her house slammed open, and Erin ran out, pulling on her yellow jacket in the process. She stopped immediately when she saw Jason, and regret washed over her face.

"I'm so sorry!" she said. "I had stayed up late last night doing more research and overslept! Oh, I hope you weren't waiting long!"

Jason smiled as he relaxed with relief. Erin had been just as worried as he was, and by her appearance she had been in as much of a rush. Her hair looked as if it had been thrown up into the bun, and her bangs hung in her face at odd angles. She was still wearing a pair of purple and white striped pajama pants.

Erin noticed Jason eyeing the pants, and smiled sheepishly. "Whoops…forgot to change out of my PJs." She looked up at Jason's hair and grinned. "Did someone just take a shower?"

"If by someone you mean me, then yes," Jason replied, wiping away a droplet of water that was sliding down his forehead from his damp hair.

"Well, we'd better get inside before your hair freezes to your head. It seems winter is coming really early this year!" Jason realized that he was not wearing his sweatshirt, and quickly slid it on over his head. They started for the door, and Jason had a sudden thought.

"Does that mean it will snow soon?" Jason asked excitedly. He had sat inside watching snow for years, and he had always longed for what it would be like stand outside in it, letting the tiny flakes melt on his protruding tongue. He wondered what it would be like to make a snow angel or build a snowman. Most of all, he longed to go sledding.

"I don't think so," Erin said. "But probably in a couple of months, we will have plenty of snow! It snows quite a bit here in Emmet!"

"Emmet? Is that was this town is called?" Jason had completely forgotten to ask where they lived. He had been curious, but never even thought of asking.

Erin nodded. "And in case you're curious, we're in South Dakota, right next to the borders of Nebraska and Iowa."

Jason nodded. He had studied maps before. He had found a book of state maps in the attic along with other books belonging to his father. His father owned books of almost every subject, especially music, so Jason new just as much as any person could know about maps, mathematics, language…and of course, music.

Once inside, Erin removed her jacket and hung it on the coat rack inside the door, revealing an over-sized, Mickey Mouse t-shirt that could have very well been a dress on Erin. Jason admired the adorable mouse, and asked who it was. "It's Mickey Mouse. He is pretty much Walt Disney's icon…I'll tell you more about that later, though."

They walked into the computer room, where the Ancestry website was already on the monitor. The two sat down, and Jason noticed that his mother's name was all over the page as a list of several records.

"You searched my mother?" he asked, scanning the page.

"Yeah," Erin said. "As it turns out, there were no records of you at all, so I went ahead and typed in your mother's name to see what came up. Luckily, I know her maiden name from when I met her a couple of weeks ago, so that is helpful. There aren't very many results, which is also good, so I'm going to leave it up to you to do the rest since you more much more about Melinda than I do."

She slid the keyboard over to Jason, who looked at the foreign object. He glanced up at Erin, who was waiting patiently for him to start typing. He began, slowly, but soon gained momentum. Erin was impressed at how quickly he had picked up typing, even though he kept his head bent low to see where the letters were. When he was done, he grabbed the mouse and clicked the search button. Only one result appeared on the screen.

"Wow, great!" Erin exclaimed. "Let's hope this is her!"

There was a picture that popped up of a woman with long, black hair, icy blue eyes, and fair skin. It was definitely Jason's mother, but much younger, probably in her late teens.

"Wow," Jason breathed. "She was beautiful! I've never seen a picture of her like this one! How old was she in this?"

"It says in the caption that she was eighteen…this much be her graduation picture!"

Jason looked on in fascination. His mother's hair was exceptionally black in this picture, whereas now it was more dingy and had a few gray strands. His eyes wondered over the edge of the screen, where there was a small folder icon labeled "Photo Album."

"Let's look at the other pictures!" Jason exclaimed.

Erin rested her chin in her hands as Jason clicked on each picture, giving each of them long, concentrated looks and reading the captions thoroughly. He seemed to be picking up on how to use the computer very well already, and Erin enjoyed watching the childlike wonder on his face as he skimmed through the few pictures there were of his mother. There was one with a large group of people in which his mother was probably only about thirteen, and he excitedly pointed out his aunt Carrie, only nine at the time and holding a doll in her small arms. Another picture was of Melinda and a tall, tan woman with short blonde hair and dimples. The caption listed her as Judy Green, a name Jason recognized as someone his mother spoke to on the telephone once in a while.

The last picture made both Jason and Erin sit up in their chairs and lean forward. Melinda looked to be about their age, early twenties, and was wearing a white laced wedding gown. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun, and a veil fell down her back and past the boundaries of the picture. She had on the biggest smile Jason had ever seen, and her eyes seemed to have a youthful sparkle. But this was not was got Jason and Erin's attention. There was a man in the picture, with his arm wrapped comfortably around the waist of the bride. He had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and a long, straight nose. His light blue bow tie accented well with Melinda's eyes, and his smile was just has jovial as that of the woman next to him. What was more shocking was that despite looking completely normal, he looked a lot like Jason. Jason let his eyes trail down to the caption, which read:

'Marriage of Matthew James Marcel (21) and Melinda Kay Jamison (21)'

The man he was looking at was his father.

Jason suddenly felt as though he was the only one in the room, and that his father was the only person in the picture. Jason felt his heart rise into his throat, and a wave of nausea washed over him. He stood, but stumbled a bit and sat back down. Erin grabbed his shoulders to steady him as he lowered himself into the chair, still gawking at the picture. He knew Erin was talking to him, but he heard no words, only sound. Jason had never seen a picture of his father, for his mother had apparently hidden all of his pictures before Jason was born. Coming across this so suddenly was overwhelming to Jason, and he did not know what to think.

"Jason, can you hear me?" He understood her at last. He tore his eyes away from the screen and looked at her concerned face. She had her hands over his shoulders and had evidently turned him in his chair while he had his episode so that his body was facing her.

"Jason…" Erin said in a regretful tone. She had no idea that the sight of his long dead father would have such an impact. She assumed he had seen pictures before, but evidently not.

Taking a deep breath, Jason straightened himself and looked back at the screen. The image of his father stared back at him. Jason had wondered his whole life what his father looked like, and there were similarities between Jason and his father that Jason could never have imagined. The facial structure, the jaw line, posture…even the smile was the same. Jason thought back to his early memories as a child, when his mother did not pay as much attention to him as she did now – not only because of his deformity, but perhaps because Jason reminded her of Matthew somehow.

"He looks like me," Jason murmured. "He actually looks like me."

Erin looked at the picture and realized he was right. It was surprising to her how they could look so different and yet so alike, but she could relate. Rory and she inherited almost everything from their father, Patrick, but because of their noses and face shape, everyone thought they looked like their mother. When compared to him, they looked so different, yet alike at the same time.

Erin put her arm around Jason's shoulders to comfort him. "Of course he does…he's your dad. Children have to inherit something from their parents, no matter how they are born." Of course Jason did not know anything about heredity or human sciences because his father did not own books of that sort. Jason cupped his chin in his hand.

"Which brings me to wonder…" Jason said, turning to Erin. "Why is it that woman give birth to babies, but the father effects their genetics?"

Erin almost thought he was joking, but the sincerity and curiosity in his eyes made her blush slightly. "Ummm…that's something you'll have to ask your mother sometime."

He cocked his head to the side, then shrugged. He had asked his mother and his aunt when he was about thirteen years old, but they refused to tell him at the time, so he never brought it up again. If Erin would not tell him, he would just have to ask Carrie again. She was a nurse, so she should know.

Erin took over the keyboard once again, and clicked on the icons of Melinda's parents. There were no pictures for either of them, which disappointed Jason, but at least he was able to see their names.

"Margaret Smith and Daniel Jamison," Erin said out loud. "Let's see, Mary seems to have been an only child, and Daniel…woah…Daniel had six siblings! I guess that's normal for the time, but still!" She was about to click on Margaret's parents when a box with words popped up onto the screen. Jason read something about an end to a subscription…whatever that was.

"Oh no!" Erin groaned in dismay. "I forgot that I only had a two month subscription! My mom wouldn't let me pay for any more than that!" She quickly pulled a small notebook from one of the desk drawers and grabbed a ballpoint pen from a green mug on the desk that was filled with assorted pencils and pens. She began scribbling down the names and information of the people that were currently on the screen, and after she finished she logged out of the page completely. She slouched back into her seat and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry Jason, but without that website we can't do any more accurate research."

Jason slumped his shoulders and sighed. He had really hoped that they would be able to find out more about his family tree. He was really getting interested in not only finding Erik, but seeing who else had been in his family before his time. It was all over now, at least until Erin could convince her mother to let her get another subscription.

Erin suddenly bolted upright and snapped her fingers. "I know!" She grabbed the mouse and clicked on an icon shaped like an envelope at the top of the screen. As Erin typed some more into a couple of boxes, Jason wondered what she was doing, and leaned over to get a better looked.

"My uncle is a professional genealogist," Erin said as she began typing a message beginning with 'Dear Uncle Cedrick.' "He lives over in Washington, D.C., so I'm sending him an e-mail asking if he can help us out. I'm sure he would be glad to!"

"What is…e-mail?"

Erin looked over briefly, then resumed typing. "It's kind of like regular mail, but it's sent to someone over the internet. Very convenient when sending something long distance."

"Is it quicker than regular mail?"

"Oh yeah! It only takes a few seconds to a few minutes to reach someone!"

"Wow…"

Jason was transfixed with watching Erin send the e-mail, knowing that her uncle would receive it any minute. "When will he read it?"

"I don't know," Erin said standing up and stretching. "Whenever he checks his inbox, I suppose. He communicates through his e-mail all the time, so he should read it soon. Until then, what should we do?"

Jason thought a moment, then grinned. "I know, we could…" He was about to suggest they play the duet he had written, but there was one problem…he forgot to bring it.

"We could what?" Erin asked.

"Well…I was going to say we could play this duet that I wrote yesterday…for piccolo. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to get here I forgot to bring that and my piccolo." Jason hung his head.

"Oh, well that's okay! It was very sweet of you to have thought of that," she smiled, making him feel a little bit better. "Besides, I have my flute and my piccolo here…perhaps we can look at some other music – you on my piccolo and me on my flute!"

Jason raised his head. "Really? You would want to?"

"Of course! I'm anxious to hear you play!"

Jason felt a tingling sensation in his stomach as a smile crept across his face. Finally, someone else you wanted to share music with him. The only person he had in his life before now who showed an interest in music was Carrie, but she had lost a lot of knowledge about how to play a piccolo. He doubted she even knew how to read music anymore.

Erin led the way upstairs to her bedroom, which was at the very end of the hallway. Jason walked in to find himself surrounded by yellow. The walls were painted a soft yellow, and the white quilt on the bed had hints of yellow and pale blue. The wooden vanity had delicate, yellow patterns hand-painted onto it, along with a vine of fake yellow roses weaving around the oval-shaped mirror.

"Wow," Jason said while Erin retrieved two small instrument cases from her closet. "There sure is a lot of yellow in here." Jason turned to look at the wall that was attached to the door and jumped backwards slightly. The wall yellow like the rest of the room, but it had a plethora of white roses on vines painted around the frame of the door. They were woven thickly around the door, but thinned out as they got further away from the door, until there were only thin little vines webbing out. They looked almost real. Jason also noticed that some look as if they were painted partially purple, and some of those looked as if they had purple paint dripping from them. It was the most interesting this Jason had ever seen.

"Did you do that?" Jason asked, bewildered.

Erin shrugged. "Yeah…I love roses, as you can probably tell…and the 'dripping paint' effect." She laughed.

Jason was still staring at the masterpiece before him as Erin removed the flute and piccolo from their cases and proceeded to disinfect the mouth piece of the piccolo. She pulled up two chairs to her music stand and began scrounging around in a box of papers for a duet. Jason eventually snapped back to reality and began to examine the room further. It was so much different than his bedroom at home…in fact, none of the rooms in his house were quite like this. There were posters covering the wall behind the desk of what appeared to be musicians, and some were of other cartoons like the mouse on Erin's shirt that were all too strange to Jason. There was a shelf on the wall opposite the door, where pictures were displayed. He walked over to get a closer look. One that caught his eyes was of Erin and a small group of girls. There was one with long, blonde hair and glasses, one that was slightly chubby with a round, pretty face standing next to Erin, and a thin, Japanese girl with an alabaster white smile. Erin and the girls were all smiling as if in the middle of laughter. The picture next to that was of Rory in some kind of uniform, kneeling on one knee and keeping a straight face. Jason saw that he was holding an odd-shaped ball, and assumed that it must be a football. He had a black stripe on each cheek, and his eyes were squinting to keep out the sun that must have been shining on him from behind the camera. The number seven was in large, white print on his red jersey.

"Oh, I see you've seen my pictures," Erin walked over and stood beside Jason. She pointed to the first photo with her and her friends. "The one with glasses is Samantha, the one next to me is Elly, and this one is Aiko; her parents are from Japan, and she is a HUGE Phantom Phan. These are my main college buddies!"

Jason nodded. Erin could fell the mood begin to get uncomfortable, considering Jason had never experienced having a group of friends before, and Erin was practically bragging about hers.

She was about to change the subject and request that they began making music when the doorbell rang, startled them both.

Erin sighed. "Now who could that be? Wait here, Jason, but don't make a sound."

Erin raced down the stairs and to the front door. She opened it, but nearly shut it again when she saw who was outside. Regaining her composure, she smiled politely to the man leaning against the door frame.

"Hello, Ryan."

Upstairs, Jason could hear voices, but could not make out what was being said. He wondered if it was another of Erin's friends; she seemed to have quite a few. He knew it could not be one of the girls in the picture, for the person downstairs sounded male. Jason was not sure why, but he felt a small pang in his chest. It was as if he was dismayed that the person was here, talking to Erin. He knew that if this person were female, he would not mind, but the fact that they were a man bothered him to the point where he began to pace the room. He tried doing so quietly, as to obey Erin's orders, but his foot suddenly came in contact with a loose board under the carpet, making a loud creak. He froze, hearing the voices downstairs stop abruptly.

Ryan looked up at the ceiling, furrowing his brows. "I thought you said no one was home."

Erin's index finger gave a slight twitch as she looked up as well. "Oh, uh...Rory must have slipped in while I was in the computer room…He can be pretty sneaky!" She scolded Jason in her mind as Ryan took a step towards the stairs, still not quite believing Erin's story.

"I hope you don't mind if I say 'Hi' for a minute," He pushed his way past Erin and made his for the stairs.

"Ryan, wait! He may be in the shower, so you may not want to disturb him!" Erin tried pulling him by his arm, but he shook her off.

"I don't hear a shower going."

Just as Ryan got halfway up the stairs, Erin pulling with all her might on his sleeves, Rory's voice echoed from somewhere up the stairs, stopping them both cold.

"Hey, Erin, is someone down there giving you trouble?"

They both stiffened, and Ryan slowly turned around and looked at Erin. She let go of his sleeves and crossed her arms, trying not to show her shock. She yelled up the stairs, "Everything's fine, Rory. One of your football buddies stopped by to say hi."

"Well, I can't talk now. I'm just about to get in the shower. Can you tell him to come back later?"

Erin looked at Ryan, whose eyes were narrowed toward the top of the stairs. "I told you," she said uncrossing her arms and pulling him back down the stairs. "You can come back later if you like. As for your lunch invitation, I'll have to pass...lots of homework."

She led him to the door, but he stopped just inside. "Erin, wait. There's something else I want to do first."

"Oh crap," thought Erin, wanting more than anything to just shove him outside and be done with this.

"Erin, I have wanted to ask you this for a long time now, but now seems the time to finally ask…" he took her hands in his, oblivious to her stiffening in his grasp, "Erin Carmody, will do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

Erin violently tied to jerk her hands from his, but he tightened his grip. Erin's face reddened – not from embarrassment, but from complete and udder anger at the nerve of the louse she saw before her. Him asking her to be his girlfriend? Erin felt herself wanting to gag at the thought. Besides that, he was beginning to hurt her hands.

"I'm sorry, Ryan," she said despite having zero sympathy, "but I have to ask you to let go!"

"Is that a yes?"

"No!" she grunted, finally freeing her hands from his.

He recoiled in shock. "Wh-...What? Erin, babe, you can't be serious..."

Erin felt her self control slipping away to reveal her rocky attitude towards Ryan. "Oh, but I am. Ryan, I don't want to go out with you."

Ryan was in disbelief. "Are you crazy? I'm the most popular guy in school! Girls would DIE to be in your position and you're turning me down? No, I don't believe you!"

Erin walked over to the door, her head held high and her kind disposition out the window. She had had enough.

"Believe it, bud," she said, opening the door and sweeping her arm dramatically as if to bid a lord farewell.

Ryan stood his ground for a moment, anger boiling inside of him. He thought bitterly of all the things he would say or do at this moment if Erin's brother were not home, but kept them to himself. Narrowing his eyes, he briskly walked out the door, giving Erin a nasty look on the way out. Erin merely smiled sweetly and waggled her fingers in his direction.

"I'm truly sorry, Ryan, but you're just not my type," she said before closing the door and latching all three locks. She leaned her back against the door and let out a deep, exasperated sigh. She heard the loud bang of a car door slamming and the screeching of wheels as Ryan sped off down the street. Once she peered out the window to make sure it was Ryan she heard driving away, she hurried up the stairs to find see if Rory was indeed in the shower.

She reached the top of the stairs and looked down the hallway. The bathroom door was open and the light was off, and Rory's bedroom was open and dark, as well. She slowly made her way down the hall to peek in both rooms just to be sure. He was nowhere to be seen.

Hurrying back to her bedroom, she opened the door to find Jason practicing the fingerings of the music that was laid on the stand with Erin's piccolo. Erin placed her hands on her hips as Jason turned partially to look at her, looking like a small child who just stole a cookie from the jar and was caught in the act.

Erin could not find the heart to be upset with Jason, so she only smiled and shook her head. "Okay, Jason, you got lucky, but only because Rory just happened to sneak upstairs without us knowing. Now, where in the world is he now?"

Jason began fiddling with the piccolo, looking down at his lap. "Well…that's the thing…"

"What is?"

Jason did not say anything for a moment. Finally, he raised his said so that he was looking at Erin from out of the corner of his eyes. "…Rory's not here…he never was here."

Erin dropped her arms, thinking Jason was playing some dirty trick on her. She held up her hands. "Okay, Jason, very funny. Now seriously, where is Rory?"

Jason looked her full on, embarrassment evident on his features. "I told you, he's not here. I'm not lying."

Erin was beginning to panic. She did not know what to think of this situation, and how she and Ryan could have both heard Rory's voice without him being in the house. Perhaps…

"Jason?" Erin said slowly, her eyes now wide. "…Did you imitate Rory's voice?"

Jason blushed and slunk into the chair, but nodded. Erin could not believe what she was hearing. This man, already proving to be a genius magician and supposedly a brilliant musician, whom she had told to be quiet while she talked to Ryan, had accidentally made a small noise and had tried covering himself up by imitating the voice of someone he had only met just the day before. The scariest part was that he had succeeded without a flaw, exposing another hidden talent of his.

"H-how did you…?" Erin stuttered, pointing at him with her index finger. Jason buried his face in his folded arms.

"I'm sorry, Erin!" said Jason's muffled voice. "I panicked when I heard him coming, and I didn't know what else to do! My mother said I was always so good at imitating voices when I read a story, so I thought that maybe I could pull it off! I guess I never expected I could be so convincing, but I'm sorry for not sitting still when you asked me to be quiet."

Erin just stood there for a moment, and then made her way over to where Jason sat. She heard a faint sniff from underneath his thin arms. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave a quick squeeze. Jason lifted his head so that only his yellow eyes were visible.

"It's alright," Erin reassured. "I shouldn't have freaked out at you like that. It really was a brave thing you did taking a chance like that…even if you were helping yourself more than me." She gave a small smile.

"But he sounded angry," Jason said, his words still slightly muffled by his arms. "I was afraid of what he might do if he stayed longer. I disliked him as soon as I heard him, so that's why I was pacing with worry up here…I didn't want him to hurt you."

Erin was touched at Jason concern, and smiled wider. It seemed as though her admiration for this young man had brown throughout each day she had known him so far, and she basked in the thought that he evidently cared about her, as well. "That was very thoughtful of you, Jason…Thank you; you saved both of us."

Jason lifted his head and dropped his arms. He looked at Erin, who was still smiling at him. He managed a small grin back, relieved that Erin seemed to have forgiven him for the great risk he took. They stood like that for what seemed like just a couple seconds, but in reality it was almost a full minute.

"Well," Jason spoke first while holding up the piccolo, having put everything that had happened in the past few minutes behind him, "Shall we play?"


	9. A Mask and a Response

"Damn girl!"

Ryan clenched the steering wheel of his red Cadillac with an iron grip as he screeched around the corner away from the Carmody household. His jaw was set tight, and he was barely paying attention to the road ahead of him. He thought angrily, "What gives her the nerve to say no to me? I'm everything a girl could want! She's lucky I didn't ask someone else!" He ceased gritting his teeth, then smiled to himself. "She's playing hard to get…Yeah, that's it. She's just trying to make me work harder to win her over."

Satisfied with his excuse, he relaxed a bit and began to think more of how he may be able to win her affections. He turned the car sharply around a bend, continuing straight towards the college campus area. Erin was certainly not the prettiest girl he had ever sought after, but she was definitely the most interesting. Most of his jock friends would have nothing to do with someone so different from the other girls at college, but it was the fact that she was different that made Ryan give a second glance.

A familiar car passed by him going the opposite direction. At first, he did not think much of it, but then realization came over him when he gazed back at the vehicle in his rear view mirror. It was a creamy gray old truck with a crack in the back windshield, and there was a chain of some sort hanging from the rearview mirror with a large, open locket swaying as the truck hit small bumps in the road. The head of the driver, thick brown hair brushing the ceiling of the interior, was turned over and down as if he was adjusting the dials on his radio. Ryan could not tell who it was from a distance, but he had to know him, for he had seen that old truck parked at the college during football practice several times. It was so familiar.

Then it hit him. He turned hard into the parking lot of the college and parked crooked in his normal parking spot near the entrance. He silenced the engine and sat with his eyes wide and knuckles white from his hard grip on the wheel. It was not possible.

The driver of the truck was none other than Rory Carmody.

Ryan tried to convince himself that he had been mistaken, but inside he knew that the man behind the wheel of that old junk truck was definitely Rory. Ryan's face flushed and he slammed a hand on the steering wheel in rage. Erin had lied to him; Rory was never home. But that left another even more infuriating question: Who was with Erin in the house? Some sort of ventriloquist freak, as far as Ryan knew, since whoever it was imitated Rory's voice.

It must have been that "friend" Erin had been talking about before. What was his name? Ryan could not remember her even telling him, but that did not matter. Ryan pushed open the car door and slammed it behind him, walking briskly up to the building of his next class. He was going to find out who this mysterious stranger was, and when he did, he would make sure he regret ever becoming associated with Erin…his Erin.

A week went by, and still no word from Cedrick. Erin reassured Jason that he may have other things to do, and that they just need to be patient. Jason did not know if he wanted to be patient, especially in a situation like this, but he tried…for Erin's sake. He fully trusted her and her logic, and felt that he relied on her now. She was his window to the world.

As days passed, Jason and Erin grew even closer in their friendship. The weekend that they were apart seemed much too long, and Jason especially tried hard to conceal just how happy he was that Monday had come. Erin was entranced by Jason and his abilities with music whenever they played together, even more so than with his magician's skills. When he played, every etude was like a poem, each song like a story. His face stayed firm, but the concentration in his eyes was eminent. It was as if he was in another world entirely, a world where no one but he existed. Erin felt herself wanting to learn how Jason did it – how he was so brilliant at what he did. She wanted to be able to play like him. She was already a highly proficient player, and Jason was one hundred percent sincere when he told her so. He himself even seemed impressed by her abilities. She had, after all, been playing since she was seven years old by the encouragement of her mother. But Erin wanted to be more, to reach Jason's level. She felt herself a bit envious of him at times – He, someone the same age as her who had been self-taught, had far exceeded her, who had been given private lessons since childhood. However, Erin took this envy as a fuel to make herself better, and Jason was happy to help. He became not only her friend, but her personal coach. Jason helped her tremendously, and taught her deep, mental techniques that she had never even thought about. Any other professor, she knew, would have used the old cookie-cutter techniques that had to do with fingers, mouth position, etc. Jason, however, had a more mental and emotional approach, which proved even more effective than the teachings Erin had previously received. Jason was impressed by how well Erin understood and applied these things. She was obedient and attentive, always taking what he had to say seriously and never taking any criticism personally. Her playing was already melodious, but by the end of the week Jason felt himself transported whenever she played with him in a duet. Erin's thoughts were mutual. They made the perfect duo.

Besides playing, Jason was eventually introduced to the different kinds of music besides symphony. He had no idea that there were so many. Erin explained how she liked mostly classic rock and show tunes, but that she was open to others. Jason took a liking to some of the pop music that Erin showed him. The music itself was a bit strange to him, but he could not get away from some of the voices he heard. His favorite was Whitney Houston. Her voice was as large and full as the singing of the women on his opera CDs, yet it was much more natural-sounding and open. The women who sang opera on his CDs had nasally, tight voices with fast vibratos, and they all sounded similar. Houston, on the other hand, had a more relaxed and natural tone, but with all the volume and perfection that every opera star could dream of. He could also understand every word that Houston sang.

"What's this?" Jason asked as he pulled a CD off of a shelf that was labeled "The Phantom of the Opera."

"Oh!" Erin exclaimed, suddenly becoming excited. "Did I mention that "The Phantom of the Opera" was made into a musical in the mid-eighties? A composer named Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music, and it is absolutely genius! The version you are looking at is with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, but there was a movie musical made in 2004 as well."

Jason was intrigued. "Please, let's listen to it!"

Erin popped the CD into the stereo and pressed play. Immediately, the sounds of the sprawling chords of an organ filled the room. The music was strange and slightly creepy to Jason, but a few seconds in and he felt immediately drawn to the music.

Between each of the songs, Erin explained which scenes of the play contained the music, and how there were several differences from the book. Jason asked why the play was not like the book, but she only shrugged. They continued listening for the next hour and ten minutes. Jason was completely mesmerized by the feelings the music gave and how much more romantic the music made the story sound. He glanced over at Erin a few times, seeing that she seemed to be enjoying the music as much as he was. At the end, when the character of Christine sang: "God give me courage to show you, you are not alone," Jason saw Erin's eyes glistening. He felt tears well up in his eyes as well, for that part really was touching.

Once the song ended, Erin ejected the CD and placed it back in its case. Smiling at Jason, she said, "So, what did you think?"

"Incredible," was all Jason could say. He was still in a dreamlike state. Erin laughed.

"I should show you the movie sometime," Erin said. Jason only nodded. "I know, it is a very depressing story, and Erik didn't get his happy ending, but hey," Erin patted Jason's shoulder, "that doesn't mean you won't get yours." Jason looked down at her grinning face and smiled back. He knew she was right. It seemed as though Erin and he had already become such close friends, so why could they not remain that way? Rory's slight wariness of Jason had completely evaporated, and they, too, were good friends. Jason now had two great companions – one that shared common interests and who was teaching him so much, and one who, as Rory had put it, was someone to "guy-bond" with. Jason had never felt such joy in all his life.

As the week went on, Jason and Erin spent less time checking e-mail and playing music and more outside, talking about the world. A small heat wave struck, and for about three days, October felt more like April. The sun shone all day, and Jason loved the outdoors, so they took longer breaks from music just to enjoy the weather and enjoy each other's company.

One afternoon, they were lying on their backs in the grass. Jason had come over after lunch because Erin had a class that morning. It was too warm for jackets that day, so they took them off and used them as pillows for their heads. Jason gazed up at the fluffy white clouds gliding slowly across the blue sky. "Why is it that it is suddenly so warm when winter is right around the corner?"

Erin crossed one leg over the other lazily, letting her house slipper dangle from her toes. "Living in the Midwest can be funny sometimes. A day like this in the middle of October may be the only nice day we get all month before the cold weather sets in, and we may randomly get snow in the middle of March the next year…it has to do with the warm air that somehow makes its way here at certain times of the year. It's strange, yes, but I'm used to it."

Jason turned so he was facing Erin and propped himself up with his arm, spotting a dandelion and plucking it from the ground. He began gingerly pulling off the tiny yellow petals, careful not to tear any in half. "What do you do on days that are nice like this? You stay inside when it is cold, and I've heard of playing with the water hose when it is hot, but what is there to do outside when it's warm besides just lying in the grass?"

Erin sat up. "Well, there's plenty to do outside! You can play sports, go for a walk…or just enjoy nature itself!" She jerked her thumb towards the fence separating her backyard from the woodlands beyond. "See those woods back there? Rory and I used to love to go exploring there when we were kids. We would look for neat rocks and pretend we lived in a jungle with all the wild animals." She smiled at some of the memories. "I remember when we had contests to see who could dig up the fattest worms."

Jason cringed at the thought of digging up slimy, chubby worms. "Oh come on, it's not that bad!" Erin laughed. "Either way, Rory and I had some good times in those woods." Her smile faded a bit as she remembered one memory that changed the way she looked at the woodland area forever. "…and some not-so-good times," she said more quietly.

Jason cocked his head to the side, losing interest in the dandelion. "What kind of not-so-good times?"

Erin sighed. She wished she could keep her mouth shut sometimes so she would not have to tell this story over again, but she could not help herself. Crossing her legs and leaning back a bit, she began:

"One summer, when Rory and I were about ten, we went exploring in the woods like we always had at the time. We walked further into the trees than we normally did and found a pond that we had never seen before. It was a hot day, so we decided to wade in and cool off." Erin closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the pond and how beautiful and it had looked at the time with the sun shining through the leaves of the trees onto its surface. "I stayed in the shallow end because I couldn't swim at the time, and Rory – the little rebel he was and still is – began ducking under the water and doing laps around the deep end. I felt left out just sitting in the shallows, so I tried walking over closer. Little did I know, it was a sharp drop into the deep end, and I was sucked under." Erin pursed her lips as she remembered the horrifying moment. "I hadn't taken a very big breath, so my lungs felt as though they would burst at any moment. I was disoriented and could not see which direction was up. I ended up taking a bit of water through my nose before I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me to the surface. I don't remember much after that other than the fact that I was terrified and coughed a lot. I refused to ever go there again, and our trips to the woods were never the same."

Erin shrugged. "I can swim fine now, but I never have swum in a pond or anything bigger. I was always paranoid, and I still am."

Jason looked at Erin the entire time she was talking, watching the care-free, talkative girl he had come to know seem to crawl into an invisible shell. He could not imagine what that must have been like, a child who could not swim being sucked into deep water without any way of breathing. He knew that he could not swim, so it would be just a scary for him now as it would have been for Erin back then. Still, he was curious about the woods, and he wanted to see where Rory and Erin had spent their childhood.

"Would it be possible," Jason said, "for us to leave the backyard to go into the woods? Just for a little while?"

Erin bit her bottom lip. "Eh, I don't know…Things have changed since Rory and I were little, and there is a new bike trail running through the woods not far from here. There are always people working community service walking through the woods and picking up trash, or else a kid or two might cut through the trees. Aren't you afraid someone might see you?"

Jason had not thought about that. There could very well be someone in the woods who may see him. What they could do, he would not know, but he did not want to find out.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Erin suddenly sprang to her feet and stood in front of Jason.

"Come with me," she said, taking Jason's hands in hers and pulling him to his feet.

Standing in Erin's room, Jason watched as Erin dug through her cluttered closet, wondering what she was searching for and why there were so many assorted items in an enclosed area meant for keeping clothing. Finally, Erin emerged from the mess holding something white and smooth. She held it up for Jason to see. It was a mask, creamy white in color, and it looked as though it would cover most of the face, exposing the mouth. It had a simple, straight nose on it and a pair of eye holes. Jason caught on to what Erin was thinking right away, but he was unsure.

"Erin, I don't know," he said, examining the mask after she placed it in his hands. "What about my skin? And the color of my eyes?"

"People who might see would think it was some sort of light trick with the shadows cast by the trees on your face," she explained. "And as for your skin…well, I doubt people will be too concerned about that. Maybe if you wear the right color of shirt, it will take away from the yellowy tint and you will just look pale."

Jason looked down at the mask, deciding whether or not this was a good idea. He did trust Erin, and he would do almost anything she asked of him, but in this instance he was not sure if her plan was fool-proof.

"Come on," Erin nudged Jason with her elbow. "Just try it on to see if it fits."

Jason looked for some sort of strap, but there were none. "How will it stay on my face?"

"It's got built-in adhesive, kind of like a giant stamp. When the stickiness wears off, all we have to do it wash it with soap and water and it will be like new again! I bought it for a Halloween costume one year, but after that my nose got too big, so it didn't fit right anymore."

"What is Halloween?"

"It's a holiday, and it happens to be this month. Now come on, try it on!"

Jason bent his face down and pressed the mask onto his face. It fit perfectly. The eye holes were just big enough to see everything he normally would without the mask, yet small enough to hide the dark circles beneath his eyes. The cheekbones of the mask formed well with his, and it was surprisingly lighter than he had thought. He looked up at Erin, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Dashing!" Erin exclaimed. Jason was glad he had the mask on, for he felt his cheeks blush at the compliment. "Wow, it fits much better than I expected! No one would ever suspect you!"

Erin hurried over to her vanity and grabbed a small hand mirror. She held it up for Jason to see himself. He examined his reflection, impressed by how normal he actually looked. Erin was right; he did look rather dashing in the mask. Despite the discoloration of his skin and eyes, he looked just like any other person.

"Wow…" he said turning his head from side to side to get a look at himself from all angles. "This might actually work."

"Now I just have to come up with an explanation for who you are in case we run into anyone, which I doubt will happen very often this time of year," Erin said, stroking her chin in thought. "Let's see…you are a homeschooled student from out of town, and I'm helping you with a research project on your family tree… Yep, that's probably as close to the truth as we're going to get for now. As for the mask…well, I guess we'll just say it's a medical condition and leave it at that…"

The front door was heard opening and then shutting, and they both froze.

"I'm home!"

They immediately relaxed. It was Rory, home from his football practice. "We're up here, Rory!" Erin called. Heavy footsteps ascended the stairs, and Rory's head appeared around the corner. He took notice of Jason's mask right away and grinned.

"Well well, looking good my friend!" Rory turned to Erin. "Can I take wild guess as to why he's wearing your old Halloween mask?"

Erin rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Rory, it's only in case of an emergency. Jason wants to explore the woodlands with me and we want to make sure no one we may come across recognizes his…well his condition." She glanced over at Jason to make sure she had chosen her words correctly. He knew what she was thinking, and he nodded reassuringly. "I mean, I don't really feel comfortable taking a chance in public places, and we don't want him getting too well known. His mother, after all…"

"I wouldn't sweat it!" Rory interrupted and put his large arm around Jason's shoulder. "The mask is perfect! If I were a random passerby, I would barely give a second thought! Why be limited to the woods? The town is much more interesting!"

"I don't know," Erin said. "What if his mother happens to be in the same place at the same time? That would not go over well at all…"

"My mother works outside of town at a car dealership," Jason said. "It would be impossible for her to be in town during the day."

"Is that so?" Rory rubbed his whiskered chin and smiled. "Well, I don't see any problem at all with a quick drive to town here and there - that is, if Jason is curious enough to explore the city as well as the forest."

Both Erin and Rory looked at Jason, who looked seemed very much interested in Rory's proposal. He did not need to say anything.

"I'll take that look as a yes!" Rory said, wrapping his other arm around Erin's shoulder. "Well, sis, what do you say?"

Erin opened her mouth to say something else when a faint bell-like sound came from downstairs.

"What was that?" Jason asked.

"I got a new e-mail!" Erin exclaimed, rushing to the door and down the stairs. Rory and Jason followed behind.

"Why is she so hyped up about a stupid e-mail?" Rory asked as he and Jason walked into the computer room. Erin was already seated at the desk and leaning forward in anticipation.

"She sent an e-mail to your uncle," Jason explained. "She said he may be able to help with the ancestral search we told you about."

"Well, did he write back?" Rory placed his hands on the back of Erin's chair as her eyes scanned an open e-mail on the screen.

"He did!" Erin exclaimed. Jason quickly walked over beside Erin and read the screen as well. "He says he would be happy to help, but that it would probably take awhile considering how many different family lines there would be to go through, and the fact that the person we are searching for may be fictional. He just needs the names and information of who we are looking for and he will get right on it!" She scanned the page further. "Oh my gosh! He's actually taking a trip to Europe in the spring for his vacation! He says he could search even further when he goes there! How much better can this get?"

Erin squealed with delight and briefly hugged Jason around the waist, making his cheeks turn pale pink under his mask.

"Now, what exactly do we need to know that would help Cedrick in his search?" Jason asked.

Erin thought a moment. "Well, Susan Kay also wrote a book that highlighted Erik's past life and family. The book is not said to be historically inaccurate, and Kay did research just as Leroux did, so it's the only thing we have to go off of." She began typing a response. "Okay, so the name we are looking for is Erik. If for some reason there is no record, as is what happened to Jason, then his parents, Madeline and Charles, will be searched. Erik is said to have been born in or around 1831, and Madeline gave birth to him when she was either in her late teens or early twenties. Let's see, is there anything else?" Erin paused and thought for a moment. "Oh yes! He was apparently born in France around the Rouen area, but that is just an assumption, and I'll add in that his father was a stonemason…just in case."

She typed a few more sentences, and then she pressed the send button. "Well, I guess what's left is more waiting."

"And," Rory said, "More time to show Jason what he's been missing! What do you say?"

Erin rubbed her chin. "Well…I guess it wouldn't hurt…just as long as we appear collected and act as if nothing is out of place."

"Then it's settled!" Rory cried. "Tomorrow, we tour the town!" He slapped Jason on the back, almost knocking him to the ground like before. "Whoops…sorry."

Jason collected himself and chuckled. "That's alright…I'm used to it now."

For the next couple of hours, the three of them lounged in the backyard, talking about the day that was to come and their expectations. When it was time for Jason to leave, Rory went back inside after saying his farewell, leaving Jason and Erin alone.

Erin spoke first, both arms behind her back and her eyes to the ground. "Jason, before you go, I just wanted to say thank you…for all you have done for me with my music. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you would spend your time just teaching me. I'm probably not the best student, but…"

"Erin," Jason shook his head. "You are probably the best student a teacher could ask for, and you're making incredible progress. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Thanking me? What did I teach you?"

"It's not what you taught me…Well, I guess you have taught me a lot these past several days, but that's not the point," Jason paused, then took a deep breath. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Erin's shoulders, hugging her close. "Thank you…for being my friend. You've given me the one thing I've always wanted, plus more. Thank you."

Erin was frozen. She had not expected Jason to take such an action. For the past week, there had been minimal physical contact coming from Jason; it seems he was almost afraid to even touch her. A hug was definitely unexpected, but not unwelcome. Erin felt her cheeks begin to burn, and she just stood with her arms pressed to her sides for a moment, but eventually she raised them up slowly and brought them around Jason's midsection. She was hesitant at first, but then she completely gave in, hugging him back and resting her chin on his bony shoulder. She had no idea how good a simple hug could feel. She always taken hugs for granted, using them only when greeting or saying goodbye to family or close girlfriends. Besides a few days ago when Jason had complimented her artwork, she rarely ever used a hug to show appreciation, especially not one that was so drawn-out and meaningful like the one Jason was now giving her. She could not remember ever receiving such a warm embrace from anyone…even her parents.

"You're welcome," she said softly.

They broke apart, and Jason nodded his farewell. After he disappeared beneath the hedge, Erin sighed heavily and turned to walk back inside, where Rory began pestering her after having watched the entire thing.

"Oh, now what do we have here?" Rory said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Shut up, Rory," Erin shoved him playfully aside as she made her way through the kitchen toward the stairs. Walking past the window, a flash of red caught Erin's eye, and she craned her neck back try to catch a glimpse of what it was she had seen. Nothing was there now, so she ran over to the window to see if it was still on the street. A red Cadillac had just turned the corner and was now out of sight, but Erin was only able to catch sight of the tail end.

"Hmm…just a car, I guess," she mumbled, and she turned and went back up the stairs to her room.

Jason walked out of the pushes just in time to see Carrie walking briskly toward him, a look of worry on her face.

"Finally you're back!" she breathed a sigh of relief. She grabbed Jason's arm and began walking briskly toward the house with him in tow.

"Carrie! What's the matter?" Jason was worried about his aunt, who never overacted about anything.

"It's your mother," she said quietly as she carefully slid open the screen door. "She came home early today without calling! I had to lie and tell her you were taking a nap downstairs so that she wouldn't wonder where you were. She's in the bathroom upstairs now, but she will be coming out any minute, so hurry down to your room and don't come up for at least ten minutes."

Jason crept downstairs to his room just in time to hear his mother descending the stairs from the second story. He sat on his bed, waiting until the right moment to go upstairs and act as if he had been sleeping. After about ten minutes, he messed up his hair just enough to make it seem as though he had been sleeping, then he made his way upstairs.

He came into the living room, where Melinda and Carrie were both reading. Carrie was the first to look up. She was about to smile, but instead her eyes filled with horror and she covered her mouth with her hand. She flashed a glance at Melinda, who had noticed Jason standing beside the couch. Before Carrie could say anything, Melinda looked up at Jason immediately her eyes widened in alarm and confusion.

Jason was confused as well, and was not sure why the two women were acting in such a way. Did he mess up his hair a little too much?

"What's the matter?" he asked, running a hand over his hair self-consciously.

"Jason…" Melinda began slowly, still staring directly at his face, "Where did you get that mask?"


	10. Near Death Experience

Jason ran a hand over his cheek, touching the smoothness of his new mask. He felt his stomach tense up as he realized he had forgotten to take it off before coming inside. He and Carrie were in such a rush to get inside that neither of them had noticed it. She evidently did now, judging by the expression on her face. Now what was he supposed to tell Melinda?

He straightened himself and tried to relax. He had to tell a somewhat convincing lie, or his days with Erin were over for good. He took a deep breath.

"I found it," Jason said, trying hard to not let his voice waver, "It was in the attic upstairs. I'm not really sure how it got there, or how the bag it was in came to be in the attic. I've never seen it before."

Jason glanced at Carrie quickly, hoping she would catch on to his story. She rose to her feet and went along with it just as he had hoped. "Uh…yes! I stored one of my bags in the attic. I hoped that you wouldn't mind, Melinda, but it was taking up needed space in my room. One of my friends at the hospital had asked me to give some things to the donation center for her, but I must have accidentally put some of them in with my things."

Jason was impressed with how quickly Carrie was able to back up his claim, and he relaxed a bit. Melinda looked suspiciously at Carrie, then back to Jason. He looked at ease to her, and she could normally tell whether or not he was lying. He was as solid as a rock. She cleared her throat. "Well, I guess that makes sense, but really, Jason, I don't think you have any need for a mask. Why did you take it in the first place?"

Jason shrugged; the lie that came was now effortless. "I was curious, so I tried it on. It fit well, so I wore it around for awhile. I must have forgotten it was on when I took a nap."

Melinda seemed convinced, so Jason felt at ease. She stood and said, "Well, I suppose you can keep it if Carrie says it is okay, but don't wear it again around the house. I don't want you hiding behind a mask all the time when there's nothing to hide from!" She chuckled, but was interrupted by the phone ringing in the kitchen. She stood quickly and rushed off to answer. Her voice could be heard receding into the backyard, where she almost always went when talking on the telephone. The sliding door slammed shut, and Jason and Carrie sighed in unison.

"Geez, that was a close one!" Carrie said while wiping her forehead.

"I'm really sorry, Carrie," Jason said, hanging his head. "I honestly forgot that I was wearing this mask!"

Carrie walked over and put an arm around him. "Oh no, that's alright, Jason. Besides, you did a good job lying back there considering you're usually pretty bad at it! I almost believed you for a second! How were you able to come up with a fib so fast?"

Jason shrugged. "I don't know. I guess thinking of what would happen if she found out the truth kind of motivated me."

"You mean not being able to hang out with your girlfriend anymore?" Carrie grinned wide, her dimples prominent.

Jason had just taken his mask off when Carrie said that, so she could clearly see his cheeks take on a pale shade of pink before he quickly hid his face behind the mask again in an effort to conceal his embarrassment. Carrie burst out laughing at this. "Oh, I'm just teasing, Jason! Don't take it to heart! But I have to ask," she leaned a bit closer and hushed her voice, "Why did she give you this mask? That is where you got it from, right?"

Jason's face had stopped burning, so he slowly removed the mask as he spoke. "Yes, she did give it to me, and…" He did not want to tell her that Erin, Rory and he were planning on going to town tomorrow; he was not sure if she would want that or not, "…she wanted to show me the woods behind her house. The mask is in case we happen to come across anyone."

Carrie nodded. "Makes sense. There is a bike trail back there, after all. I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you…" The screen door was heard opening and shutting, making the two of them freeze. "Well, I have to, uh, go to the bathroom now! See you in a few!" She walked briskly away, leaving Jason behind to just shake his head and chuckle at his aunt's actions.

Jason made his way downstairs to his room to find a place to keep the mask. His thoughts were clouded, though, as he opened and shut each of his drawers to find a decent spot. He was puzzled at how embarrassed he had gotten at the mention of Erin being his 'girlfriend.' He knew that was not the case whatsoever, so why was he feeling this way? He was perfectly happy at having found Erin (Actually, Erin found him), and was equally as elated that she liked him enough to be such a great friend. However, he could not help but feel that there was something else that he felt besides trust and adoration that nagged at him from within. What it was completely eluded him, for he had never felt such a strong sensation before and absolutely refused to believe that it was love despite all the books he had read that revolved around it. After all, look how Erik's love life had turned out.

"Perhaps it will go away eventually," he thought to himself as he kneeled down to lift the skirt of his bed. "We have only known each other for a little over a week…it will go away."

Peering beneath the metal frame that held his mattress for a good spot, he suddenly spotted his teddy bear, Ludwig, whom he had forgotten about all this time. He reached under the bed and retrieved his lost companion, brushing the dust bunnies from his fur. Jason remembered accidentally kicking him while getting dressed the day he had been rushing to get to Erin's house. Jason was in too much of a hurry to pick him up, so he just left him, evidently forgetting he was there.

"Sorry little guy," he murmured to the teddy bear. Jason felt awkward talking to the worn, patched up stuffed animal, even though he had been confiding to it as far back as he could remember. For Jason, this was a long time. Maybe it was because he did not need an inanimate object to talk to anymore; he had a living, breathing human being that would not only listen, but also talk back…a lot, in Erin's case. Jason smiled as we wondered how much Erin would have to say when they went to town tomorrow. She would probably point out every little detail she thought was important, as Rory and Jason just listened on, exchanging silent grins of amusement.

He set Ludwig on top of his bed before leaning back down to slip his mask underneath the bed up near the headboard. It was not the best spot, but it was something until Jason could find a more decent place. At the moment, he was not in the mood. His mind wandered back to Erin's quest into his ancestry, and he wondered how long it would take before Erin's uncle would find something of interest. Erin said Cedrick would continue the research in spring if he had to when he traveled to Europe, which seemed a long ways away considering he would not have Carrie to help him sneak around by that time. Erin would have to smuggle information to him somehow. Until then, all Jason had to do was wait.

"Rory! Where is my purse?"

Erin walked into the kitchen while running a comb through her side-swept bangs. She always felt that it was important to look nice when going out in public, even when you were just taking a stroll around the local square. She had on her best pair of dark wash jeans and a black three quarter sleeve shirt. The temperatures were back down to the norm for late fall, even colder because of the wind chill, so Erin made sure her yellow leather jacket was spotless before pulling it on and fastening the buttons.

"I thought you left it on the counter!" Rory yelled from the top of the stairs.

"What? Oh. Nevermind!"

Erin swung her brown leather bag over her shoulder as Rory jogged down the stairs. He was wearing a pair of jeans and his football jacket, which was red with white sleeves and trimmings.

"When's Jason getting here?" He said as he sat down to pull on his tennis shoes.

"He should be coming any minute. I'll just go out and meet him."

"Wait for me!" Rory hopped after Erin while hastily pulling on his left shoe, the other secured between his teeth.

Jason had just come through the hedge when the siblings arrived in the backyard. He was wearing a plain brown jacket that looked a bit over-sized and a pair of faded jeans. He looked up at the siblings.

"What perfect timing," Jason said. It had been more than once that Erin and he had come into the back yard at the same time.

Erin grinned. "I see you're already wearing your mask. How is it feeling?"

"Great," he said, stroking the nose of the face covering. "It's kind of nice to know what it's like to have a nose."

Rory snorted from behind the shoe in his mouth, causing the three of them to burst into laughter. Rory removed the shoe and began slipping it onto his other foot. "So, where do we plan on going today?"

"I figure we could park up by Tony's Pizza and just walk around the square. There's plenty to see around there." She smiled up at Jason again, causing him to avert his eyes bashfully. "But we might want to avoid 'Theatrical Wonders;' Aiko is working today and I'm not sure it would be the best idea for her to meet Jason yet, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah," Rory said knowingly. "She's the 'Phantom Phreak,' right?"

Erin nodded. "I don't want her to freak out and go tell a lot of people about Jason. You know how hard it is for her to keep a secret already, but if when it's something that involves one of her favorite things in the entire universe…might as well not even bother."

Jason felt somewhat sad. From the picture he had seen in Erin's room, Aiko looked like a sweet girl. Jason wished he could meet all of Erin's friends, but apparently he would have to wait awhile.

The three of them walked out the front door and to the driveway where Erin's car was parked.

"Man, why do you get to drive?" Rory whined as Erin pulled her keys out from her purse.

"Because this is my car and your truck only has two seats, so it would be awfully uncomfortable for three people to squeeze into a two-seat truck."

"Fine…I call backseat!"

Rory yanked open the door behind the passenger side and through himself in, shutting the door behind him when he was situated and grinning out through the windshield.

"I thought you always took shotgun!" Erin called through her door as she opened it.

"I didn't want my buddy Jason to be all alone in the back seat!" he said this with a wink, causing Erin to flush slightly. She knew Rory sat in the backseat on purpose so Erin and Jason could sit together. Not that she minded – in fact, she was thrilled to sit next to him - but Rory obviously found it amusing to treat Jason and Erin's relationship as more than a friendship after seeing Jason and Erin hug the day before. "Besides, I could use a change of scenery!"

"Okay, then. Well, I guess we'll be riding buddies today, Jason!" She looked over at him as he was figuring out his seatbelt, slipping it into the buckle as if he had always been riding in cars. It was really quite simple to him; he had watched his mother do it from out a second story window once.

Throughout the ride, Jason was sitting up straight in his seat, gazing out the window and craning his neck to see everything there was to see. He especially marveled at the college campus when they passed it; all the buildings were of brick with excellent architectural details carved above and around every doorway and window, and all were at least three or four stories high. There were cobblestone pathways weaving in and out of the bases of the buildings, lined with the remnants of the plants that had now died for the upcoming winter. Erin glanced over at Jason often, unaware of the smile that formed on her lips when she saw the look of wonder in his golden eyes. Rory evidently noticed, for he cleared his throat at one point when they were at a stoplight to get Erin's attention just so he could give a quick wag of the eyebrows. Erin reached behind Jason's sit to give Rory a good whack above the knee, causing an eruption of snickers from the back seat. Jason, to Erin's relief, was not paying attention to the twins' antics. He would have probably felt a bit awkward at not knowing the secret to Rory's behavior, but not as awkward as Erin. Yes, she liked Jason – a lot – but not in the way Rory intended.

At least, she did not think she did.

Erin realized Jason really was what most girls would consider the perfect guy besides his looks, which to her were quite handsome when you looked past the discolorations and noselessness. He was kind, humble, and had a very simple yet charming sense of humor. Sure he was a bit uneducated socially, but he was a genius otherwise, so he learned incredibly fast. He had a passion for music, just like Erin, and was genuinely interested in her artwork, treating it as if it belonged in The Louvre, or something. And his smile…

What was she thinking? She definitely did not want a relationship yet, especially with Lancaster in her life. And Jason was just her friend - nothing more, and definitely nothing less. Ryan would probably flip if Erin were to get a boyfriend that was not him; not that she cared what Ryan thought, but she did care about what schemes he may come up with to win her over. But Erin could not help but wonder what things might be like if Ryan were not in the picture…

Erin slammed on the breaks when she realized she had almost run a stop sign. Jason was instantly jolted back to reality and a car zoomed past in front of them.

"Geez, Erin! You trying to kill us all?" Rory complained.

"Sorry guys! I kind of spaced out there for a minute!" Erin continued to drive once the coast was clear, and soon they reached a small building with a large sign that read 'Tony's Pizzeria.' Erin pulled around and parallel parked beside the restaurant.

"We're here!" Erin sang as she turned off the engine. The three stepped out of the car and shut their doors. Erin locked up the car and slipped her keys into her purse before leading the way down the sidewalk. Thankfully, there were not very many people around, and Erin noticed that the dim atmosphere on this particularly cloudy day made Jason's skin almost seem normal color – it was very pale, but still a possible skin tone that not many people would question. Jason was obviously wary, for his eyes flashed here and there, searching for any possible threats. Erin weaved were arm through his and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Jason," she whispered. "I doubt anyone will question you; people around here tend to keep to themselves a lot, anyway."

Jason nodded his understanding and straitened himself a little, but his eyes remained watchful. He did not even notice that Erin kept her arm wrapped securely around his.

As expected, Erin talked about certain stores as they walked along, giving brief examples of what was sold at each. Rory even pitched in a few times, especially when they stopped in front of a shop that sold sports equipment. He told them how his football coach from high school was working there since he retired the year before. Jason wished to go into the shops, but he knew he could not. Not only would he probably spend hours upon hours looking at everything there was to see, but he did not want to draw unwanted attention to the store owners or shoppers that may be inside. He just admired the window displays and listened to Erin and Rory talk.

They reacted an intersection, and seeing that the coast was clear, began to walk across. Rory, just like the other times they had crossed a street in the time they had been on the square, sprinted across and waited for Jason and Erin on the other side.

"Come on, guys!" he called to them. "Daylight's a-wastin'!"

In the middle of the street, Erin nearly tripped over a can that the wind had blown in her way. Huffing in frustration, she picked up the piece of litter to carry to the nearest trash bin, failing to notice the red car that was clumsily turning the corner and speeding her way. Jason turned around just in time to see the reckless driver, and immediate panic took over when he saw that Erin was directly in its path. Rory noticed too, but was too far away to react in time.

"ERIN!" Jason and Rory cried at the top of their lungs.

Erin looked up and her eyes widened in horror as the car was nearly upon her, but not before Jason made a flying leap to push her out of harm's way. He secured his arms around her as they plummeted towards to the ground, landing hard on their sides. The car zoomed past, nearly running over Jason's left foot in the process, and disappeared around the next bend. Jason and Erin both kept their eyes squeezed shut until they knew it was over. Jason helped Erin sit up, but kept his hands locked onto her arms while checking to make sure she was really alright. Rory eyes ran over to the pair, shock and fear written all over his face. Everything had happened so fast; he had been helpless on the sidelines.

"Are you okay?" Rory exclaimed, kneeling down beside Erin, who was in shock.

She did not respond at first. She looked at Jason, then to Rory, then back to Jason. Her bottom lip began to quiver slightly, as if she were about to cry, but she did not. Instead, she threw her arms around Jason's neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Jason was almost thrown backwards by the force that Erin had ensued by this sudden and unexpected action, but he was able to catch himself. Putting and arm around Erin to comfort her, he looked up at Rory, who gave a mall smile while keeping a solemn expression.

Jason helped Erin stand up and the three of them continued their way across the street, Erin clinging to Jason the whole way. They found a bench not too far away and seated themselves, Erin in the middle with the boys on either side of her. Rory had picked up the can that Erin had found, which had been dropped as she was flung out of the way of the car, and threw it in a nearby trashcan. As much as he did not want to, Jason removed Erin arms from his shoulders. Jason could not believe how vulnerable she seemed at the moment; she was a normally talkative, happy person, but she was completely out of character when given a fright. He honestly would have let her hold onto him for as long as she wanted, but he thought better of it.

"Erin, what were you thinking?" he said gently. "You shouldn't have stopped in the middle of the street like that, even to pick up litter. You could have been badly hurt…or worse!"

Erin did not say anything, nor did she make eye contact with Rory. She kept her face downcast, staring at her trembling fingers. She glanced over at Jason's lap, where his hands were folded tightly, then over at Rory, who had one of his large hands resting on her knee. Looking back down at her hands, she shrugged.

Rory sighed heavily, then wrapped his sister into a hug. "I'm just so glad you're alright." He turned to Jason, leaving one arm around Erin's shoulder. Rory reached out his other hand to Jason.

"And Jason," he began. "I can't thank you enough. My sister might have died if you hadn't acted as you did. You risked your own safety for hers…thank you."

Jason brought his hand up to Rory's and allowed him to shake it warmly. He looked over at Erin again, who was smiling at him. Jason felt a tug at his heart strings. He had saved her, and now she was viewing him as a hero. His self confidence rose up a level, and he smiled back.

Back at home, Rory called the police to report the incident. Erin said that he did not have to, but Rory insisted. While he was on the phone, Erin sat on the couch, watching television without really watching at all. Jason came in and sat beside her, concerned for her well-being after the scare. Erin turned to him and smiled again. Erin reached out and took his hand, making Jason feel lighter than air.

"I don't know how I can ever thank you," Erin said, giving his hand a squeeze. "If you hadn't done what you did…"

Jason shook his head. "No need to thank me. It was nothing, really…I only did what any good friend would do."

Jason lowered his face and stared at his lap, trying to block out the horror of what could have happened if he had not pushed Erin out of the way of the vehicle. Erin looked on in both compassion and pity. She shook her head and reached over to him with her other hand. Gently tilting his face towards hers, she smiled and said, "It was not nothing. You didn't do what a good friend would do, you did what a true friend would do – you saved my life. And for that, I'm forever grateful."

Jason felt a slight pressure from Erin's hand as she brought his face closer to hers. She pecked him on the cheek, just below where his mask covered his face, making Jason blush profusely. Erin giggled at the small grin that formed on his face and patted him on the shoulder.

Just then, Rory walked in with his hand over the receiver of the phone. "Do either of you remember seeing what kind of car it was or who you saw driving it? All I remember was that it was red, but that's it."

Erin thought a moment, then shook her head. "I remember the red, but nothing else. The left headlight seemed a bit dimmer than the right one, but maybe that's just me."

Rory looked at Jason, who was still in a slight trance, and grinned. "Hey, Dream Boy, can you tell us anything?"

Jason snapped out of it and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, what was the question?"

"Rory wants to know if you remember anything about the car that almost hit me," Erin explained.

Jason thought a moment, then said, "Well, it was red…really shiny, too. I think it had some sort of shield symbol on the front…"

"Wait," Rory interrupted. "What kind of shield symbol?"

"May I have a pen and paper?" Jason asked.

Rory quickly exited the room and returned with a notepad and a ballpoint pen. Testing the ink first, Jason began sketching out what he remembered of the symbol at the front of the car. It was a shield with four sections with different rectangle and square shapes in it. Jason put down the pen and Rory examined it.

"That looks like," he furrowed his brow, "a Cadillac."

Erin's eyes widened. "It couldn't be…"

"Quick, Jason, do you remember anything about the driver?" Rory asked in a rush.

"Well," Jason said. "The windows were tinted, and I wasn't really looking at the driver, so no, I don't remember anything."

Rory sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay. Um…do you remember the license plate numbers?"

"I remember a lot of threes," Erin said, her eyes becoming more filled with worry by the second. "…Ryan Lancaster has a lot of threes in his license plate."

"But why would Ryan want to run down you, Erin, of all people?" Rory crossed his arms, not quite believing in Erin's theory.

Erin and Jason exchanged glances, then Erin began telling Rory of the day Ryan had asked her to be his girlfriend, and how upset he was about her refusal. He even seemed quite jealous when he suspected there was someone in the house with Erin. Rory's eyebrows rose about an inch when she told of how Jason had imitated Rory's voice, fooling Ryan into thinking Rory was home. When she finished, Rory stood with a grave expression.

"That jerk…" he murmured. Aloud, he said, "Okay, I'll give the police all the information you two have given me and see if they can come up with anything."

He retreated back to the kitchen, leaving Jason and Erin in a state of concern.

"Oh no," Erin said, pressing her hands to her face. "I bet it really was Ryan! But how did he know…oh man, this is horrible! It's all my fault!" She hid her face in her hands and groaned. Jason looked on in sadness, wishing he could somehow help. In an attempt to comfort his friend, he put his arm around her and pulled her close, letting her head rest upon his shoulder.

"It's alright, Erin," he said as Erin removed her hands from her face and looked up at him. "Rory and I will be here for you. There's nothing to worry about."

Although Erin disagreed and felt that there was much to worry about, she felt comforted by Jason's reassurance. He really was a great friend, one that would do anything for her. After today, she felt even surer that he was one in a million, and that she would probably never find a friend quite like him. She leaned into his shoulder and closed her eyes, smiling. "Thank you, Jason…thank you."


	11. Discoveries

The next day, a Saturday, Erin sat in the computer room, skimming down the lists of posts on Facebook. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand in boredom as she scrolled past countless people who posted things such as 'Goingg 2 the maaall with tha bestiesss!,' 'Soooo bored,' 'Missing him :)'

"Do I CARE if you're eating a bagel?" she thought to herself irately after reading the status update of one of her classmates, rubbing her eyes. Erin had not been able to sleep well the night before and had ended up coming downstairs at five in the morning to watch TV and try to fall asleep on the couch. She was never the type of person to sleep in on weekends - Unlike Rory, who was not seen up and around until noon. Her dreams had been filled with cars coming at her and Jason not being there to help her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the front bumper of Ryan's Cadillac speeding towards her, making her shiver at the memory of her near death experience. As a result, she lacked the proper rest she needed, making her cranky.

A familiar bell sounded from the speakers, a notification that Erin had received an email. Not expecting it to be anything special, she clicked on the small envelope icon to view what she received.

"Hey," Erin said out loud, leaning closer to the screen with interest. The new email was from her uncle Cedrick. She began to get excited as she opened the mail and began to read. Her eyes grew wider as she skimmed down the page, and a smile crept across her face.

"I can't wait to show Jason," she thought.

The weekend came and went, and the sun rose lazily into the sky on the Monday that followed. Jason awoke to find that his mother had left for work early. Puzzled at why this was, he went to Carrie, who was sitting at the counter in the kitchen, sipping coffee.

"The dealership is opening earlier now," Carrie explained, flipping through the newspaper from Sunday. "So naturally, they want all employees to come earlier – even a receptionist like your mom."

"Will she be home earlier?" Jason asked with a worried expression.

Carrie shook her head. "She will be home normal time, so don't worry about having to come home early from the Carmody's."

Jason sighed with relief and turned to go back downstairs to get changed.

"Hey, Jason?" Carrie said.

Jason turned back towards his aunt. "Yes?"

"Well, since you've been gone so much, we haven't really had much time together besides when your mom is home…I was wondering if you might stay home a day or two this week so that we can do something together!"

Jason smiled and nodded. "Sure, Carrie! Wednesday?"

Carrie held a thumbs up. "Deal."

Jason gave a thumbs up back and hurried down to his room to get dressed.

When he arrived at Erin's house, Erin was already sitting on the back porch. She jumped up from her seat and jogged over to Jason, a huge smile on her face.

"Well, I guess you're doing better today," Jason laughed as Erin stood beaming up at him. He noticed she was holding something behind her back. "What's that?"

"Well, I got an email on Saturday," Erin said, pulling the papers out from behind her back.

Jason's eyes widened; he figured he knew who the email was from. Erin led him over to the porch, where they sat shoulder to shoulder on the narrow back step to read the papers Erin had printed.

"Check this out," Erin said, pointing at a certain page. "Cedrick found a woman in your family tree that was born about 1813, making her about the right age of the woman we think is Erik's mother. Wanna guess what her name is?"

Jason turned to Erin in disbelief. "Madeleine?"

"Exactly, only it was spelled differently than in the Kay novel: M-A-D-E-L-I-N-E." Erin paused a moment, then flipped to a different page. "But check this out. Look at this tree he sent me. The thick line is the direct line of people that lead to you."

Jason looked at the odd jumble of connecting lines, looking for Madeline. Finally, he found her name, but it was not part of the thick line that ran down the middle of the page down to his own name. It was off to the side, connected by a smaller line to a different name he had not heard before: Nadia.

"Who's Nadia?" Jason asked, puzzled.

"She is your great-great-great grandmother, and Madeline's younger half sister," Erin stated. "There was a record that showed that Madeline's parents got divorced when Madeline was about twenty years old, and her father, David, remarried a much younger woman, who then gave birth to their daughter, Nadia."

"Woah," Jason leaned back a bit and tried to process this information. "Wait a minute…so if Madeline had the gene that made Erik the way he was, how did it get to Nadia if she was only a half sister? And why did it take so much longer to take effect?"

"If this is the Madeline we're looking for, David must have had a uniquely defective gene, so Nadia inherited the gene as well as Madeline," Erin scratched behind her ear. "As for why it took longer to travel down Nadia's family line, I'm not entirely sure. All gene combinations are different, I guess; that particular gene must have remained recessive for all these years until it finally came through in your makeup."

Jason did not know exactly what 'recessive' was in this situation, for he lacked in the genealogical aspect of science, but he thought he had a general idea of what Erin was talking about. "So who passed the gene onto me? My father or my mother?"

"Well, here's the thing," Erin said as she rolled the papers back up. "This was your mother's family tree that Cedrick found, but we still technically don't have proof that Erik is there."

"What do you mean? We found Madeline, didn't we?"

"Yeah, but that could be any Madeline. It was very popular French name back then, and there could have been hundreds of them born around that time." Erin felt guilty of having to break this news to Jason, but she did not want his hopes to get too high. Apparently she already had, for Jason's shoulders immediately slumped in despair. Erin put her hand on his arm. "But Cedrick is still working, trying to dig deeper into this Madeline to see if she's the one that gave birth to Erik. The search isn't over yet."

Jason looked up at Erin, who gave him a reassuring smile. Erin's smile really did help lift his spirits, and he smiled back. "I guess you're right," he said. "I guess we'll have to keep waiting." The two of them stood and made their way inside, where they went to Erin's room to play a new song Erin had been working on for a group contest at college.

After a couple of hours, Erin was actually beginning to get slightly frustrated, a side Jason seldom saw in his friend. She had come across a fast and tricky section of the song she had received from her director recently, and she was not shy to voice her opinions.

"What is up with all of these thirty-second notes?" Erin huffed as she squinted at the page. "This is a beautiful song, and the person who arranged it is smothering the melody with this piccolo part! Things would be different if it were written for flute, but looks at how high these notes are! It's almost impossible to play at pianissimo!"

Jason chuckled. "I'm sure the arranger knew what he was doing. Perhaps the instruments with the melody will just have to play louder."

Erin shrugged. "I guess so…the low brass gets the melody, and they can play pretty loud without sounding obnoxious, but it's still an annoying part. I'm not used to playing piccolo for symphony band."

Jason shook his head with amusement and picked up his own piccolo. "You'll just have to be patient, like with any other difficult piece." He brought the piccolo to his lips and began the long, fast line of notes that stretched a full eight measures of the page. He made no flaws as if he had practice for weeks, when in reality, Erin had just presented him with the music that morning. He was even able to play softer than what one would expect from an instrument so shrill.

When he finished, he turned to Erin to see that she was staring at him with her large eyes once again, never ceasing to be amazed at his abilities no matter how much time she spends hearing him play. Jason turned and blushed slightly under her gaze of admiration, and because he had removed his mask before playing, the rosiness of his cheeks was visible.

"You sure are bashful for someone so talented," Erin laughed when she saw his flushed face. She leaned over so that she was more in his line of vision. "But that's okay. It's better to be modest than to be arrogant."

Once Jason was sure his face had cooled off, he turned back towards Erin. "Thanks," he said.

Erin gave a cheesy grin. "It's the truth, and you're welcome."

"Well," Jason decided to change the subject. "Shall we resume?"

"Indeed." Erin said as she held her piccolo under her bottom lip.

"Okay, repeat after m…" The garage door could be heard opening, causing the pair to flinch with surprise.

"That's funny," Erin said, standing. "Rory said he was going out with some friends for an early lunch after practice. Did he change his mind?"

Erin set down her piccolo, Jason following suit, and they both went downstairs. Erin looked out the front window and immediately went pale. "Oh no," she said.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"It's my dad…he came home early! He never does this without…" Erin yanked her cell phone out of her sweatpants pocket and stamped her foot. "My phone was on silent! He called and left me a voicemail while we were playing!"

"Uh oh…He still doesn't know about me, does he?"

"No!"

The door that led inside from the garage opened. Erin closed the curtains and quickly made her way to the kitchen, signaling Jason to stay put in the living room. A deep, lilted voice could be heard as Erin entered the kitchen.

"Erin! I was hopin' you would be home!" Patrick Carmody leaned down and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "How has your day been?"

"Uh…good! I've been really coming along on my music!" Erin glanced over towards the living room, hoping Jason would not be tempted to spy and risk getting caught.

"Good to hear!" The tall Irishman set his tool chest on the counter with a loud clang and began removing his worker's jacket. "Sure is cold out there! Not very fun being a construction worker at this time of year…can't imagine what it'll be like when winter roles around!"

Erin just nodded and smiled, glancing over her shoulder towards the living room, where Jason was standing just out of sight, listening.

"What're you so jittery about?" Patrick asked when he noticed Erin's rigid posture and shifty eyes.

"Nothing!" Erin said a bit too quickly.

Patrick narrowed his eyes and looked toward the living room, and then he smiled teasingly. "Are you hiding something?"

Erin smiled the best she could and chuckled lightly. "Daddy, why would I hide anything from you?"

"Oh, I don't know," he said, scratching as his mustache thoughtfully. "Perhaps you have company without permission from your parents?"

Erin rolled her eyes as if the very idea were ridiculous, but inside she was screaming for Jason to sneak out somehow, even if he were to go upstairs without being heard. Patrick leaned over to try to peek into the living room, just missing Jason's current spot. "Anyone in there?"

"Dad…" Erin tried frantically to come up with a quick lie to prevent her father from entering the living room, but was stopped by a voice that came from the top of the stairs, causing father and daughter to turn their heads.

"Is that your dad, Erin?" A soft, slightly accented voice called from the top of the stairs. It was all Erin could do to keep from laughing aloud at Jason and his trickery, but she stood her ground, relieved that he had made it upstairs. Patrick turned to her and smiled.

"Oh, so you do have company! Aiko, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, Daddy," Erin said. "I'm helping her with her script for her theatre class assignment." Erin called up the stairs. "Yeah, Aiko! I'll be up in a minute!"

"Okay!" answered 'Aiko.'

Patrick smiled at his daughter and patted her on the back. "I guess I see no problem with one of your friends coming over for schoolwork. I just don't want any parties thrown while your mother and I are away." He winked at Erin. "I'm only staying for lunch, then I'm heading back out. You can go on back upstairs to finish your work with Aiko, if you like."

"Thanks, Daddy!" Erin stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek, then she raced up the stairs to find Jason.

"Jason?" Erin whispered as she entered her room. He was nowhere in sight. Erin looked in every room upstairs – nothing. Erin stood pondering for a moment before coming to a realization: He must have thrown his voice.

"That turd," Erin thought while shaking her head. "Just like the Phantom." Then, another realization…Jason was till downstairs where her father could find him.

Tiptoeing down the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible, she found Jason scrunched up against the wall just outside the living room, where her father was munching on a ham sandwich while watching TV. Jason was too afraid to move at first, for fear that Patrick might hear him, but when he saw Erin his face lit up. Pressing a finger to her lips, she led him quietly up the stairs to her bedroom where they both collapsed, Jason in the desk chair and Erin on her bed.

"That was way too close!" Jason said, wiping his forehead.

Erin grinned over at him. "Good going with that whole throwing-your-voice routine. How did you even know what Aiko sounded like?"

Jason shrugged. "A good magician never reveals his secrets." Jason winked, and Erin rolled her eyes.

"Well, let's be sure to stay upstairs until we know for sure that it's Rory next time," she said.

Erin looked over at Jason, whose mind seemed to have wandered quickly. She sat up and scooted towards him. "What's the matter?"

"Oh nothing, really," he said. "It's just…why do you not trust your parent's with our secret? I've already been out in public…what could be worse?"

"Well," Erin began, "My parents are the kind that would flip if they knew I had been secretly inviting someone over into our house without their knowing. Especially my dad; he still won't let me have boys in the house, even at twenty-one years old. The square really isn't a place people around here go anymore on weekdays, anyway, so I guess that's why Rory chose it."

"I guess that makes sense…" Jason said, still looking bothered.

Erin stood and walked over to the chair next to Jason, taking a seat. "…Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"No." Of course, Jason was lying. He had actually become quite good at it – not on purpose, but it just kind of came to him. He just did not want Erin to know how unhappy he still was. He decided recently that he was, in fact, head-over-heels for Erin, and the thought filled him with a sweet sort of happiness, but inside he knew he was still as restless as he was when he was fifteen. Only this time, he felt like he could hold it no longer.

"Are you sure?" Erin said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Y…no," Jason said, resting his head on his hand. "I'm really not sure about anything anymore."

Frowning, Erin slid her chair closer and wrapped her arm around Jason's shoulders. "Jason, you know you can talk to me about anything…anything you want!"

Jason looked over at Erin, whose doe eyes tugged at his heart like usual. He could not burden her with his unhappiness, no matter how much it ate away at his insides. He did not want her to work any harder than what she had been to help Jason taste freedom while also keeping him out of danger.

"I really don't know if I can…" Jason said softly.

Erin's arm loosened a bit on his shoulders, her tone became one of hurt. "Are you saying you don't trust me anymore."

Jason flipped around in his chair, appalled at his own words and the affect they had on Erin. He put his arms on Erin's shoulders in a frenzy to apologize. "No! I mean…Yes, I trust you! It's just…I just don't want you to have to risk so much for me! I don't feel as though I deserve the kindness you've given me…I feel as though I've taken you and Rory for granted, and I don't want to do that."

Erin stared at Jason, surprised by his sudden action. "He feels like he's been taking advantage?" she thought. Erin could not believe what she was hearing. In her mind, Jason deserved every bit of kindness she has done for him; in fact, Erin felt she was not doing enough for him. Especially now, he seemed like he needed more love and kindness than ever. Erin gently took his hands from her shoulders and held them in her own hands, leaning closer to Jason.

"Jason," she said. "I don't just give out of pity or because I think I have to. I give when I genuinely care about someone…especially someone like you." Was she really saying this? Erin felt herself sounding somewhat corny, but inside she knew her words were true. She did care about Jason – immensely. She did not care what anyone would say when she brought Jason to the square, her arm around his. In fact, she was proud Jason was with her. Jason made her feel so happy and at ease inside. He was really someone with which she could be herself without worrying what he thought. Not even her closest friends gave her this kind of comfort.

Jason looked up and noticed how close Erin was to him. He could feel her soft breathing brushing gently against his cheeks and felt himself blushing with such close contact. Her words affected him even more, making him realize that perhaps she did admire him more than he thought. Perhaps she even felt the same as Jason did about her.

Erin realized Jason was becoming embarrassed and sat back quickly, a blush rising in her cheeks as well. She was confused on why she was acting this way with Jason, whom she had revered as a friend before. Could it be that she loved him as more?

Jason and Erin just stared at eachother for a moment, both slightly embarrassed. Neither knew what to say to the other, so they just sat in silence. Finally, Jason cleared his throat.

"Perhaps we should…continue playing?"

"Sure…that would be nice."

The next day was like the previous – Jason and Erin playing music and then conversing the day away. Nothing was said about what happened Friday or of the awkward circumstance the day before; both had tried to brush off what had happened and just went back to enjoying the company of one another. Their friendship, in fact, was stronger than ever at this point, and was on the verge of becoming more than just that. The day before, after they had finished practicing and had been sure Erin's father was gone, the two held hands while exploring the wooded area behind the house that Jason had originally wanted to see. Erin had grabbed his hand and led him through the back fence, which of course made Jason's stomach do a front flip, but they remained in this way the whole time; neither found need to let go of the other. It was almost natural for them now, even when they had only known one another for two weeks. Hand in gloved hand in the freezing weather that afternoon, they came upon a small clearing among the trees, the area littered inches deep in fallen leaves.

"Funny," Erin said. "It really must have been a long time since I've explored back here. I don't remember this area at all!"

"Perhaps this area has not been explored by you or by Rory," Jason suggested.

"Probably; we really didn't pay any attention to where we went when we were kids…just as long as we knew what direction we came from so we could find our way home."

Jason nodded, and the two continued walking. The bare trees formed a canopy above their heads, creaking and slapping against one another in the cold wind. It was peacefully quiet besides the wind, something Jason liked. He brushed some of his jet black hair away from his brow and looked up.

"We should come here more often," Jason said, gazing up at the groaning trees.

Erin nodded in agreement. "I agree. I miss coming back here; it's so peaceful."

When they arrived back at the gate, Jason released Erin's hand and quickly made his way ahead of her, holding open the gate as she passed through. "Lady's first."

Erin grinned. "Why, thank you, kind sir."

Jason sighed heavily once they were inside the closed gate. "Well, I guess I'd better go now," Jason said, a bit of regret in his tone.

Erin pouted a little. "Why so early?"

"Mother said this morning that she would be home around three in the afternoon; it's about two fifty now, so I need to go." He gave her hand a slight squeeze. "Also, I won't be here tomorrow. I promised to spend the day with Carrie"

Erin smiled and wrapped Jason in a hug. "That's alright. I'll be waiting on Thursday."

"Bye, Erin."

"Bye."

Jason disappeared into the bushes. Erin stared after him, a hand over her heart and a smile creeping upon her face.

"What a guy," she thought to herself as she walked back into her house.

The next day, Jason kept his promise and spent the entire day with Carrie. Spending time with her made him feel like a kid again. They played old board games, listened to music, told stories…all the things they had done from the time Jason was a toddler. Jason also spent a good chunk of time talking to Carrie about all Erin and he had accomplished in music – the things he was teaching her, the duets they played, and especially the song they were currently writing together; they called it Carrie just smiled the entire time, enjoying every moment of Jason's jovial expressions and enthusiastic speech. He really did have a thing for this girl, she had said to herself while watching his eyes get a far off look as he spoke of her. She only hoped that the relationship would not become dangerous to him or to the family considering their delicate situation.

Melinda was in the kitchen, washing the dishes from lunch while her sister and son spent their quality time together in the attic. She finished drying the last dish and placed in carefully in the cupboard, shutting the door and walking back towards the living room. The basement door, she noticed, had been left slightly ajar, so she took a detour so she could shut it. Looking down, she became curious.

"I really have not been in Jason's room since we moved," she thought, taking a step down the stairs. "I really should be down here more often to make sure he is not living in a pig sty."

Although she knew Jason was very organized, she wanted an excuse for herself to explore her son's domain. The only other time she had been in his room that she could remember was the time she discovered his window had been tampered with. Furious, yet deathly afraid of what might happen at the time, she moved the two of them immediately, not even thinking of other, more practical solutions to the problem.

She descended the stairs to find that his room was indeed spotless, the piles of sheet music stacked neatly in folders in a container beside his desk and his other belongings placed accordingly throughout the room. His pajamas from that morning, however, lay on the floor, having been tossed aside quickly before he had gotten dressed to visit Erin. Melinda did not know that, so she only assumed that he was just lazy in the mornings and cleaned up only at the end of his days. Picking up the clothing, she folded it neatly on the bed. Then she noticed that Jason's book that he had received from his birthday was lying face down on his nightstand, a blue velvet bookmark peeking from within the pages.

Melinda picked it up and examined it. The bookmark was marking a page that was towards the beginning of the novel, so Melinda figured Jason had finished and was reading it again. He must have enjoyed the story quite a bit.

She flipped to the marked page and started skimming through the passages, trying to get a feel for the story. Melinda came across one part in particular that sent a chill up her spine, and a disturbed expression across her face. This could not be…

She read the page over and over, even flipping to the precious pages and the one after. Soon, she found herself standing for the next two hours, reading the book from the start to almost halfway. Her eyes were like saucers as she paid special attention to the passages of Erik and his descriptions and dialogue. This could not be true. A book that people from all over had probably read had a character almost exactly like her son, whom she had kept hidden and without identity for his entire life. Suddenly, it was as if her secret was out, and that the world already knew of Jason. In that same instance, she thought of herself, and how she allowed Jason to read it before checking to make sure the story was okay, and of how she had trusted Carrie…

Carrie.

Melinda's eyes became ever wider as she realized that everything traced back to Carrie. She had read the book herself, but had given it to Jason anyways. Why would she do such a thing when the story could have easily done emotional damage and cause Jason to ask more questions?

"…She wants Jason to leave," Melinda murmured numbly.

The sounds of footsteps and laughter could be heard on the floor above, becoming clearer as Jason and Carrie came down the stairs holding boxes. They were stopped in their tracks at the sight of Melinda. At first, Jason was only surprised, but then his features became etched in horror as he actually noticed the presence of his mother in the room where his window was exposed yet again, the cold expression on his mother's face, and his copy of 'Phantom of the Opera' clenched in her white hands.


	12. Locked Away

"Melinda!" Carrie said in a mix of surprise and concern. "What are you doing down here?"

Melinda, her burning gaze fixed mainly on Carrie, walked towards the two of them. She stopped a couple of feet in front of Carrie, and then looked over to Jason, who avoided her eyes. Turning back to Carrie, she held up the book in her hands.

"What is the meaning of this?" She asked coldly.

Carrie stared at her sister, not sure of what to say. She had been rehearsing what she would say in a situation like this for weeks, but she found that her mouth would not work. She just stood mute as Melinda shifted her gaze to Jason.

"Carrie," Melinda said in an almost whisper. "Please go upstairs..."

"But, Linda…"

"NOW."

Carrie slowly set down the box of books she was holding and made her way upstairs, turning to look over her shoulder at her nephew, left alone to fend for himself. The door shut, and a dead silence fell over the entire room. One could hear a leaf fall from a tree outside if there were any left on the trees. Even though Jason was taller than his mother, he felt like the smallest person in the world at this moment.

"Jason," Melinda said after a short silence. Her tone was suddenly gentle and less bitter. "I want you to tell me the truth, and only the truth."

Jason gulped, a light sweat forming on his brow. "I-I don't…"

"Jason," Melinda said, the bite returning in her voice. "It's clear to me now that this book was given to you on purpose, and you know it. Why, I'm not entirely sure, but I have my suspicions." Melinda leaned closer, holding up the book to Jason's face. Her voice became a whisper. "I want you to tell me what Carrie has been telling you about this book and about…well, anything. What all do you know?"

Jason bit his lower lip. This was the moment he had dreaded since day one, but that he had put off selfishly in order to feed his own curiosity. Here he was, his mother in his room, asking him a question he had not prepared himself for and could not answer with a lie easily and have evidence to back it up. Also, Carrie was no longer here to help him. He was trapped. And as if on cue, Melinda turned around to see that his window was exposed, a repeat of a past event that had made the two move in the first place. Melinda's face began to redden, and she turned around slowly to face Jason, her eyes burning with anger.

"I see you and Carrie must have had a little…renovation project while I was away at work," Melinda said.

Jason knew now that any lie he could make up was useless, so he told himself to suck it up and tell Melinda the truth, no matter how much it hurt her or hurt himself. The gig was up.

"Mother, listen," Jason began, trying to keep his voice from faltering. "Don't blame Carrie for anything. Yes, she gave me that book on purpose, but I was the one who suggested going outside while you were gone and…"

"You went outside?" Melinda's voice was much louder now and laced with panic.

Jason noticed he was still holding a box and set it down quickly. "I was only going to sit in the back yard! But then…"

"Then what?" Melinda's voice was now raised in volume.

"Well," Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "I met Erin…our neighbor. She found me in the bushes when I was trying to hide from someone that was behind the back fence. My shirt was caught in the branches, so she helped me get loose…she didn't mind my face at all."

Melinda raised her eyebrows. "She didn't?"

"No…in fact, we have become really good friends. I have been going to her house for the past two weeks and she expects me back again tomorrow."

Melinda bit her lower lip in worry. Erin wanted him back tomorrow? This was a much bigger problem than she thought. "Was anyone else in the house when you visited her?"

"Her brother, Rory," Jason said. "That's it."

"And is he kindly?"

"He has become my friend, as well. He doesn't mind that I look different."

Melinda's mouth was now a thin line. She did not know what to do. But after a few moments, she straightened herself, took a deep breath, and stared coldly into Jason's eyes. "I will not allow you to see them again."

Jason stared back in disbelief. "That isn't fair!" he practically yelled. "Erin and Rory are my friends! You have no right to take them away!"

"I have every right!" Melinda spat back. "I am your mother, and what I say goes! You live under my roof, so you must follow my rules. I also see it to be a fit punishment from the grief you've most certainly caused me! What makes you think I would let you go now?"

Jason felt himself flushing with anger. His patience was hanging by a mere strand and he was having trouble keeping himself from shaking with fury. "You don't understand! Those two are the best thing that has ever happened to me and you're just going to lock me back up and act as if nothing happened?"

Melinda brushed past Jason and walked briskly towards the stairs. She stopped at the first step and glanced backwards at Jason, whose fists were clenched in both frustration and panic.

"That is exactly what I'm going to do. It's for your own good."

Melinda started up the stairs, leaving a fuming Jason behind.

Once the door to the basement slammed shut, Melinda latched the lock on the door. It was small and was barely noticed, but she had always known it was there. Carrie was standing there in the kitchen, waiting. She glared at Melinda as she walked briskly past.

"For his good…or for yours?"

Melinda slowed a bit at the words that came from her sister's mouth, but did not stop walking until she reached the door that led out to the garage.

Jason just stood where he was for a good few minutes, breathing heavily and fighting to keep from crying out in rage, then with one swift kick he sent one of the boxes on the floor toppling over, spilling its contents. He knew that this would probably happen if he were discovered, but for some reason he found himself still shocked that it did. Now how was he ever to see Erin again? Then Jason remembered the window. If there was still time, he could escape before Melinda could anything about it. Just then, the shrill sound of a drill filled his ears. He spun around to see that his mother was drilling a padlock beside the window…a large one.

"No,no,no!" Jason raced over to the window and dried to push it open. It was too late. Melinda had already slipped the padlock onto the window and clicked it shut before Jason had a chance to push any harder. She stared down at him with an expressionless gaze, then placed a large slab of wood in front of the window, blocking Jason's view.

Jason backed away, breathing hard. That was it. There was no way out now, and he had heard his mother lock the basement door. He was now officially trapped inside his house. He felt his eyes well up with tears as he pictured Erin, standing in her backyard the next morning, waiting for him. He imagined her hurt expression when he failed to show up. He would have let her down.

He had let her down.

He collapsed on his bed and began sobbing with hate for his mother's cruelty and with the sorrow of never seeing Erin again. He would miss Rory as well, but no hurt compared to hurt that was being separated from Erin, the brightest thing in his life. Never to see her smiling face again…never to know whether or not Erik had existed, either. Never able to hold her hand or be wrapped in her arms again.

The next morning, Carrie's vehicle was gone. She had been told by Melinda to leave immediately, and to not come back. Carrie had packed with a heavy heart the night before and had set out for the long drive that morning. A tear trickled down her cheek as she shut her car door and started the engine.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," she had murmured as she left.

Jason was forced to stay in his room from that moment on. Melinda set his dinner at the top of the stairs for him that evening, but Jason did not touch it. He spent the rest of the day just sitting at his desk, staring at the wall. When it came to be late, his eyes began to droop, but he did not move. He ended up falling asleep in the desk chair, his chin to his chest and his hands holding his mask. He did not feel the need for food anymore. He felt the need for nothing as long as he was separated from Erin. She had become everything to him, and now she was gone forever.

Nothing could possibly be worse.

Erin sat on the back porch, shivering from the chilly wind that was blowing against her bare face. She checked her watch for about the tenth time: ten o'clock. She sighed and rested her chin on her gloved hand. Jason was nearly two hours late. Where could he be?

Rory walked out the back screen door, wearing his football practice uniform and jacket. He sat beside Erin and put his arm around her slumped shoulders.

"He still isn't here yet?" Rory asked, looking towards the shrubs.

Erin shook her head. "I'm really worried. What if something happened?"

Rory gave Erin a squeeze. "Don't worry, Erin, I'm sure he's fine. Maybe his mom took the day off and he had to stay home! I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow!" He pinched Erin's cheek in between his fingers. She swatted his hand away playfully, smiling a little.

Rory stood. "I'm off to practice now. Let me know if he comes."

"I will."

With that, Rory turned and walked back inside, shutting the door behind him. A few minutes later, Erin could hear the faint sound of Rory's truck's engine sputtering to life and pulling out of the drive, the sound fading as he drove farther away until there was only silence.

Erin sighed and stood up to stretch. Her back made a satisfying crack and she stood with her arms crossed. Maybe Rory was right. It was not like Jason at all to be late, so perhaps his mother unexpectedly took the day off. Erin still could not help from feeling uneasy as she made her way back inside to get warm.

"Just don't worry, Erin," she said to herself. "If not today, he'll be back tomorrow."

But Jason did not come the next day. Erin stood outside and waited for two to three hours for Jason to return. Instead, Jason was locked within his bedroom, slowly dropping into depression as he lost all hope of escaping. After his first few hours of silent lament, he tried to come up with ways to escape without his mother's knowing. All was in vain, so he gave up entirely, tortured with the thought of Erin waiting for him to come back.

Erin began to fall into despair too the more she thought of bad things that may have happened to Jason. Later in the day, she walked outside and snuck into the backyard, seeing if there were any windows to peek in. The only one was a basement window, but it had a large slab of wood blocking it. Erin was afraid that if she disturbed it, someone would notice, so she left it alone. She peeked in side windows and saw nothing, so she gave up and trudged back to the house.

"Maybe he'll come back Monday," Erin thought as she walked inside. "I sure hope he's okay."


	13. Freedom and Peril

A week went by, then two weeks. Jason was not heard from by either of the Carmody twins. Erin was desperate to find out what had happened to her dearest friend, but there was no way to do so without raising the awareness of Mrs. Marcel, which was out of the question. By the time Halloween came, Erin had lost hours of sleep, tossing and turning while her thoughts were clouded with worry over Jason. She was almost constantly tired and began relying more on coffee, something she normally only had on occasion, to get her through the day.

Jason was even worse. He was not only losing sleep, but was not eating what he should. His body did not change much, of course, but his energy level was low, and he only ate when he felt that he was on the brink of collapsing from hunger. He now despised the idea of eating something his mother prepared for him. He disliked her so much at the moment, just the thought of her made Jason grind his teeth. He only hoped that Erin was better off than he.

On Halloween night, Rory stood at the front door to the Carmodys' house, watching the already dark evening grow darker at only five o'clock. He had on an enormous rainbow afro and large sunglasses, and a peace sign pendant hung around his neck. The sun could still be seen through the trees, but it would be gone by the time the children emerged from their homes raid the neighborhood for candy. Parents would most likely make their sons and daughters wear a coat over or possibly under their costumes because of the freezing temperatures that year, or else the children would be donning thick, heavy costumes to begin with. It would be at least an hour before any kids were to ring the doorbell to the house, but Rory was excited either way, despite the depression that still lingered due to the disappearance of Jason. That was a feeling that would probably never go away, especially for Erin.

She sat on the couch in the living room, her oversized sweatpants looking more like a blanket over her crossed legs. She was messing with her cell phone, pushing random numbers into her phone's calculator and replying to an occasional text from her friend Samantha, who was taking all three of her younger brothers trick-or-treating. Her mother, Evelyn, poked her head out of the kitchen, her red mop of hair dangling over her shoulder.

"Erin, honey," she said, "Aren't you going to help your brother hand out candy tonight? You normally would be all dressed up by now."

Erin shook her head, her eyes fixed on the screen of her mobile as her fingers danced across the keypad. Evelyn frowned a bit, then retreated back into the kitchen. She and her husband were becoming increasingly worried about their only daughter. Her personality had done a one-eighty, it seemed, and nothing they tried helped to cheer her up. She would smile occasionally, but then whatever smile was there would disappear quicker than it had come. The skin beneath her eyes was turning a pale pinkish purple from her lack of sleep, and she did not talk nearly as much as before. Her personality had seemed to turn gray.

Rory walked into the living room and removed his glasses. He sat next to Erin on the couch and put an arm around her in comfort.

"Erin, you know I can't stand you being like this," Rory said. "Mom and Dad are being driven crazy over not being able to help you, so I think you should at least try to be happy again…for them."

Erin sighed heavily and set down her phone. "Rory, I'm trying the best I can, but it's too hard. Not knowing where Jason is or if he's alright…" She turned away.

Rory rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "I just don't want you to be sad forever."

Erin looked back down at her phone, then yawned heavily, rubbing her eyes. She stood and stretched.

"I think I'll go outside," she said.

"Erin…" But Erin was already walking away. She did not bother to grab her winter coat as she walked out the back door, hoping the crisp air might help wake her up a little and clear her head. She made sure the door was shut securely behind her and made her way out into the air. She inhaled deeply and exhaled; her breath was barely visible. It was not as cold as she thought it would be. The temperatures were supposed to go back up that week, according to the weather, but only by a few degrees. Erin continued standing for some time with her eyes closed, trying in vain to empty her mind of worries. The sound of the gate opening pulled her from her meditation and she opened her eyes. Turning, she saw a figure in a dark-colored hoodie walk through the fence. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Jason?" she breathed, taking a step closer to the person walking towards her. She immediately stopped when she noticed the person staggering slightly, an empty bottle dangling carelessly from their left hand. He was obviously a little drunk. The person's face was downcast and his hood covered his head, so Erin could not tell whether it was Jason or not until she noticed that this man was not thin enough to be Jason. She stepped back warily as the person continued forward sluggishly.

The man sniffed and reached up to wipe his mouth with his sleeve, then he lifted his head. His hood fell backwards, revealing Ryan Lancaster. Erin gasped when she saw him and began backing away slowly, hoping he was too intoxicated to notice her. But Ryan saw her immediately, smiling like the stereotypical drunkard.

"Hey there, Erin," he slurred, waving his bottle at her and coming even closer. "What are you doing out here?"

"I should ask you the same question," Erin said, eyeing the back door.

"Well, I just happen to be…in the neighborhood…" he almost fell sideways, but caught himself. "…and I just wanted to stop by and see my girl." He leaned forward and put his arm around Erin, bringing his face close to hers. She pushed him away, disgusted.

Ryan furrowed his brows and cocked his head, moving back towards Erin. "What's the matter? Don't like me anymore?"

"I never liked you," Erin said through her teeth, ready to shove him away if he tried to touch her again. She glanced at the door, hoping Rory might hear them and come outside.

Ryan followed her gaze and smiled again. "Waiting for your brother, eh?"

Erin looked back at him and narrowed her eyes. She was wasting her time. She turned around and swiftly walked toward her back door. Just as she reached the back step, Ryan grabbed her and yanked her backwards with surprising force. She stumbled towards the fence and tripped over her baggy pant legs, falling on her rear end.

"Ow!" she cried. She tried to stand up but was stopped when she saw a beer bottle pointing at her, inches from her face. She looked up and saw Ryan, staring at her with zero emotion.

"What the heck are you doing?" Erin practically yelled. She tried to sound irritated, but on the inside she was starting to get scared.

"Trying to take what is mine," Ryan replied. "And this time that freak boyfriend of yours isn't here to save you." He grinned menacingly.

Erin narrowed her eyes. "That was you who almost ran us down, wasn't it?"

Ryan through his head back and laughed, almost falling over once again. "Clever girl!" he exclaimed, throwing the bottle over to his side. It landed in the dead grass with a dull thud.

Erin tried to stand again, but stopped immediately when she saw something shining emerge from Ryan's pocket. It was a knife.

Erin's eyes grew wide as Ryan turned the knife in his hands, smiling as if he had won something. She began to scoot backwards away from him, but he only followed.

"You wouldn't," Erin said, eyeing the blade in terror.

"I tried to hit you with a car, didn't I?" He chuckled.

Erin was backing away quicker, breathing hard. Her foot slipped on the hem of her sweatpants a couple of times, slowing her progress.

"Stay away!" she yelled, holding her hand out in front of her while using the other to navigate the space behind her. Ryan did not stop advancing, and was now holding the blade in front of him. Erin's back hit the wood of the fence – she was now trapped. She tried sliding to the side to find space to make a run for it, but Ryan followed her every move. He may have been drunk, but his reflexes were still sharp.

"Help!" Erin cried. "HELP!"

Ryan chuckled again. "No one's here to help you now."

Jason was lying in bed, reading the book about the twin brothers separated at birth again. He had probably read the same page over about five times, but he could not seem to focus. Readin had been almost a chore for him lately, but he kept trying. Grumbling, he tossed the book onto his nightstand and lay back on his pillow, deciding to give sleeping another try. He doubted he would be able to fall asleep, especially this early, but what else was there to do? Music only made his heart ache now, for he was back to playing alone. Closing his eyes, he felt himself begin to drift off.

"Finally," he thought.

A faint sound reached his ears, causing his eyes to snap open. It was familiar, but so distant that Jason could not tell what it was. He sat up and strained his ears, listening. There it was again - a voice from outside. He got up and walked to his locked window, pressing his ear as close as possible to the pane. He could not tell what the voice was saying, but it sounded distressed, almost panicked. Then, it became louder, the voice more recognizable, and one distinct word hit Jason's eardrums.

"HELP!"

It was Erin.

Jason caught his breath. Erin was in trouble, and he was not there to help her. Jason pulled on his hair, cursing himself for not finding a way out sooner. Even if he were to find a way out now, he might arrive too late, and all would be useless. But even thinking over this now was wasting time. He had to break out, whether his mother found out or not.

Jason looked at the window. If he could find something to break it, he might have a chance. He had thought of breaking the window before, but it was much too risky. The board may be nailed on as well, and Melinda would inevitably hear and come down to investigate. Jason did not care about that anymore, and decided to go for it. Erin was in trouble, and saving her was the only thing that mattered. He searched frantically around his desk until he found a glass paper weight his mother had given him. He did not use it, but it looked nice on his desk. It would have to do.

Jason put on his mask, since it was the only thing that would protect his face from flying shards, and chucked the weight forward with all his strength.

Crash!

Glass projectiles flew forward, barely missing Jason's eyes and bouncing off of his mask. Thankfully, most were too small to cut into his clothing. He lunged forward and jumped onto his chair. Pushing on the wood, it fell forward onto the ground with a thud.

"Thank goodness it isn't nailed," Jason thought as he heaved himself through the window. Ripping sounds could be heard as the glass that was still attached to the window tore his sweatshirt down the sides, but Jason did not pay attention. He thought he could hear Melinda call his name, but he ignored that as well. He scrambled onto the cold ground and hurriedly stood, racing towards the hedges.

"What the hell?" Ryan turned a moment as a loud smashing sound reverberated through the air. While Ryan was distracted, Erin hopped to her feet and made a run for it, but Ryan's attention was not diverted for long. He reached out and grabbed Erin around the waist, pulling her close and holding the knife to her neck. Erin tried to scream, but only a squeak emerged from her mouth.

"Oh no you don't," Ryan growled in her ear as he brought the cold knife to her skin. Erin squeezed her eyes shut and but her lower lip.

The next thing Erin knew, the sound of bushes rustling could be heard, and Ryan was violently yanked backwards, releasing both the knife and Erin in the process. Erin gasped and dropped to her knees, touching her neck to make sure she was unscathed. Finding only a slight prick that was not deep enough to bleed, she turned to see another hooded figure pinning a flabbergasted Ryan to the ground, slender hands at his throat.

She pressed her hand to her gaping mouth as she realized that it was Jason that held Ryan hostage. He had come back. The sides of his hoodie were torn, exposing some of his pale skin. Erin could not see his eyes, but his jaw was clearly set tightly with anger, and he was breathing hard. He tightened his grip around Ryan, who was griping at Jason's hands, trying to pull them away. Jason could have easily strangled him, but he remembered Erin and turned his head to make sure she was alright. His eyes glowed like those of a cat in the darkness.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She nodded, unable to find her voice. Jason acknowledged her safety and turned back to Ryan, who was now blubbering in fear. Jason slowly loosened his grip and then let go altogether. Keeping his eyes locked on Ryan, he walked over to where the knife had fallen and scooped it up. With a mighty heave, he chucked it over the hedges and into his yard; he would have to dispose of it later.

"Jason…"

The sound of Erin's voice brought Jason back to reality, and he turned to see her wide, terrified eyes looking directly at him. Their eyes locked, and they just stood staring for a few moments of silence. Erin then lunged forward and threw her arms around Jason's neck. Jason smiled and wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her close. How good it felt to have her in his arms again.

"You came back," Erin whispered. "I was so afraid that…that I would never see you again."

"As was I," Jason said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

A low creak was heard from behind, and the two separated and spun around. Ryan had stood and was now sneaking out through the back gate towards the woods. When he realized he had been spotted, he made a mad dash. Jason, his rage returning, immediately raced after him.

"JASON!" Erin yelled as the two men disappeared through the fence.

"I can't let him get away!" Jason called over his shoulder. "He will torment you further if he isn't stopped!"

The back door opened behind Erin and Rory stepped out, his eyes wide with concern. "Are you okay? I thought I heard yelling."

"How could you not?" Erin thought as she whipped her head around and looked at her brother pleadingly. Aloud, she said, "Rory, Jason's back, but he's gone after Ryan! We have to stop him before he gets hurt!"

"Jason's back?" Rory said in disbelief. "Where did he…"

Erin had already turned and began running in the direction in which Jason and Ryan had disappeared, so Rory sprinted after her. They began calling Jason's name, waiting for a response. After about a minute, they heard Jason's voice in a large clearing. They arrived at his location, and Erin recognized it as the clearing that Jason and she had found on one of their walks. All the leaves were long dead and were like dry mush under their shoes. Jason was standing on the far side, looking around frantically for Ryan, who had disappeared.

"Where is he?" Erin asked, looking around as she walked closer to Jason.

"Um…Erin?" Rory said while glancing over to his left.

"I don't know," Jason breathed, trying to catch his breath. "I followed him here, but now he's gone!"

"He couldn't have gotten too far…"

"Erin!" Rory spoke a little louder, grabbing Erin's arm.

Erin stopped walking and turned to her brother. "What is it, Rory?"

"Don't you think this place looks a little familiar?"

Erin scanned the dark area, not quite understanding what Rory was talking about. It was just a clearing, just like any other. The trees were dead and naked of their leaves, just like the rest of the trees of the area, and leaves covered every inch of ground in this area. What was different about this clearing?

"What are you talking about?" Erin said.

"Remember that tree with that little heart carved on it that we saw once when we came here?" Rory said, pointing over to his left. Erin squinted and saw what he was talking about. The rough shape of a heart was scratched into the bark of a large oak at the edge of the clearing, something she had forgotten about for all these years up until now. Erin remembered only seeing it once, when Rory and she were ten.

The day they had found that pond.

Erin's eyes widened as she realized what Rory was saying: this was the clearing where the pond was located that fateful summer years ago. But where was it now? If this were the same clearing, wouldn't the pond still be here? Erin did not like the feeling this area gave her, nor was she fond of the memory, so she began backing away with Rory.

"Jason, let's leave," Erin called, eyeing the area nervously. Her left pinky finger gave a slight twitch. "We'll call the police and they can search for him."

Jason hesitated, and then reluctantly began walking towards them. As he walked, he noticed that the ground became harder as he neared Rory and Erin. Not only that, but it felt like it was bending with his weight. Jason stopped and kneeled down, brushing away some dead leaves.

"Jason, what are you doing?" Rory asked.

"I just want to see…" Jason stopped cold and jumped back to his feet with fright. He had cleared away the leaves to reveal the ground, but there was no ground – only his reflection. What was the reflection from? Jason cleared away a bigger area of leaves, revealing a larger portion of the mirror-like blackness below.

"What's wrong?" Erin said as Jason's face filled with confusion.

"This can't be right…" Jason bent down to look closer at his hazy reflection, his weight shift causing an ominous groan from below. Suddenly, his image was split in half by a huge crack, the earsplitting sound echoing among the trees. Jason wobbling out of balance, and smaller cracks began webbing out from the large one.

Erin looked on in horror, aware now that the pond was, in fact, still there, but it had frozen in the early cold weather. The leaves had all fallen quickly while it was frozen, shielding it from view. The weather was making a turnaround, so now the ice was weak, meaning Jason did not have much time to get off before it cracked beneath his weight.

"Jason! RUN!" Erin cried, but it was too late. Another hideous cracking sound filled the air, and time seemed to run in slow motion as the ground underneath Jason's feet gave way, plunging him into an icy pool of darkness.


	14. Reconcile

Erin released a bloodcurdling scream as Jason's head disappeared beneath the surface of the hidden pond. She lunged forward and tried to run towards where Jason had been, but Rory grabbed both her arms and held her back. Erin tugged and pulled with all her might to free herself from Rory's grip, but he was much too strong. All fear of the pond had suddenly melted away; she was too concerned for Jason's life than for her own safety now.

"Let me go!" Erin cried, stopping in her struggle and glaring at Rory.

"Erin, you're crazy!" Rory argued. "You'll fall in, too, if you try to help him! You may be a good swimmer, but even the best swimmers and get disoriented under ice!"

"But Jason can't swim!" Erin yelled as she looked at her brother with pleading eyes. "He'll drown for sure!"

The splashing of water could be heard, and Erin whipped her head around just in time to see Jason pop back up above the water's surface. Relief washed over Erin when she saw how lucky Jason was for not becoming lost beneath the dark water, but his position was still one of trouble. He was clinging to the slippery edge of the hole, coughing up water and shivering to the bone. The water was undoubtedly freezing, and his body temperature was probably dropping by the minute. Erin realized that because Jason less insulated than most people due to his gauntness, his body heat would plummet even quicker, so he had to get out as soon as possible before his body began to shut down.

Erin tried to think fast. "Rory," she said. "Run back to the house and get help."

"What? And leave you and Jason by yourselves? Not a chance…"

"Rory, please," Erin looked into his eyes with determination. "I'll make sure he doesn't slip back in, just go get help, and fast. Trust me."

Stared at his sister for a long moment, then he nodded. He sprinted back to the house, leaving Erin to fend for Jason.

"Er-r-rin!" Jason stuttered, his teeth chattering hard. "I'm slipping!"

Erin turned back to Jason. "Hold on, Jason! Keeping kicking your legs to stay afloat! I'll think of something!"

Erin looked around the area. There were no long, sturdy branches she could use to pull him out, and the longest ones she saw were very flimsy. Suddenly, she hatched an idea. Kneeling down, she began brushing away the leaves in front of her, moving forward and creating a small path. If she could just find the edge of the pond…

"Wh-What are you doing?" Jason asked.

"Just trust me…I have an idea." Erin eventually came upon the edge of the pond, only ten feet from Jason's location. Standing, she stomped on the ice until it broke under her foot. She smiled.

"Jason," she called, stomping on more ice. "Start breaking the ice!"

"Wh-what?" Jason called back uncertainly.

"Start making a path towards me!" Erin said. "If we make a path, I can get closer to you and you can get closer to the shallow end. I'll be able to help you ashore!"

Jason understood and began pounding away at the slab of ice in front of him until it broke loose. He gasped and his head went under for a moment, his means of support gone temporarily, but he resurfaced and clung to the edge of the now wider hole, a few inches closer to Erin.

Erin stomped away at the ice. The freezing water leaked inside of her shoe and made her teeth begin to chatter. After a couple of minutes, she was about knee deep, only six feet from Jason, who was beginning to have a harder time breaking ice. His movements were already slower, and he was breathing hard. Never in his life had he had to pound on something so vigorously while kicking his numbed legs. His eyelids began to droop, and he felt overwhelmingly tired. Erin took notice and began to hit the ice with her fists, the water rising to her hips.

"What is taking Rory so long?" Erin thought.

Jason had gone about three feet before he had to stop and rest. His grip on the slab in front of him began to loosen as his muscles numbed. Erin was now only three feet away, and the water was to her chest. She almost plunged into the water when she reached the steep drop-off into the deep end, but she regained her balance and took a deep breath. Raising her fist high above her head, she struck the last foot-long piece of ice, breaking it just as Jason slipped beneath the water again. Erin tried to react quickly, but was too late. Taking a deep breath, she dove beneath the water and felt for Jason. She came in contact with one of his arms, so she grabbed it and yanked it upwards. Both she and Jason broke the surface, gasping for air.

"Erin!"

Rory came rushing into the clearing carrying a long piece of rope, followed by Patrick, Evelyn…and Melinda. They were all carrying towels and were overcome with fear when they saw Erin and Jason in the water. Rory tossed the rope out to Erin, who grabbed it with her free arm. Her other was wrapped around a now limp Jason. Patrick helped Rory tug both of them to safety. They were immediately wrapped in towels, and Rory and Patrick wrapped their arms around Jason to help him to the house.

Erin watched as Jason was carried away to the house. She then looked over at Melinda, who had her hand pressed to her mouth and a tear rolling down her cheek. Melinda sensed that she was being watched and looked over at Erin. Their eyes met, and an awkward silence followed. Melinda wanted desperately to embrace Erin and thank her for saving her son, but she had a feeling that Erin would not take to her kindly. She undoubtedly knew all about Jason's life…and what kind of a mother Melinda was. Without a word, they turned and followed the group back to the house.

When Jason awoke, he did not instantly remember everything that had taken place. He rubbed his eyes groggily and sat up. He was in the Carmody's living room, covered in towels and still damp from his 'swim.' He looked over and saw Rory sitting in a chair.

"I wondered when you would wake up," Rory said, grinning and standing up.

Jason looked around the room. His first question was, "Where's Erin?"

"She went upstairs to change clothes," Evelyn spoke, walking into the room with a bundle of clothing. "She refused to leave your side for the longest time, but we convinced her that she should put on something dry." She looked down at the folded cloth in her arms. "Your mother brought you some dry clothes, as well."

"My mother?" Jason said, looking around nervously.

"She's not here now," Evelyn said. "She said you would probably not want to see her, so she brought the clothes and left."

Jason was not sure if he heard correctly. She did not think he wanted to see her…and she actually brought clothes for him and left? That did not sound like something his mother would do after all she had done to him to keep him from getting out of the house. It was evidently true, for the clothes Mrs. Carmody was holding were definitely his, and he took them gratefully when she handed them over.

Standing, he walked out of the room and to the bathroom, where he changed out of his wet, torn sweatshirt and damp jeans and into dry jeans and a dark gray sweater. When he arrived back in the living room, Erin's father was sitting next to his wife on the loveseat that was in the room. Erin was there, too, and she was sitting on the couch. When she noticed Jason walk in, she smiled and patted the seat next to hers.

Jason smiled back and took it gratefully. As soon as he sat down, Patrick cleared his throat.

"Well, Jason," He said in his Irish accent. "You gave us all quite a scare back there."

Jason lowered his face. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't want to cause any trouble."

Jason heard the man chuckle, causing him to look up curiously. "There's no need to apologize," he said. "We're just glad you're safe."

Jason looked over at Erin, who explained, "I told them about how you saved me from Ryan – when and he tried to run me over and when he tried to slit my throat. You were very brave." She reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze. Jason looked back over at Erin's parents, who both smiled at him. Jason gave a weak smile of thanks. He thought back to his mother, wondering what she was doing at this time. Was she finally through having to keep him around and decided to just go home and leave him with Erin's family? Was she angry with him and just wanted to be alone? Was she going to come back for him soon and lock him up again? So many questions were bouncing around within his head, and Jason wanted some answers.

"So…" he began, "Am I...do I have to go back home now?"

Mr. and Mrs. Carmody looked at eachother, then at Jason. Evelyn spoke first. "Your mother said that you probably would not want to go home, but she didn't say anything about when you should go."

Patrick spoke up, putting an arm around his wife. "After all you've done for our daughter, you're welcome to stay here for the night…that is, if you would like to."

This was another shocker for Jason. His mother was letting him stay here? This all seemed too surreal. One side of Jason was rejoicing, glad that he could stay with Erin and her family (if they let him stay with them, that is). The other side was unsure of this freedom. A small voice inside told him to go home and reconcile with his mother, no matter how furious he was with her, or vise versa. He dreaded facing his mother more than anything at the moment, but he knew that it would be the right thing. He had, after all, disobeyed her, when all she ever did in her life was take care of him; Jason was not paying her back very well by sneaking out of the house. Even though she reacted harshly when she found out about Jason's secret life, she was still his mother, and he had to respect that no matter what. Sighing, he refused the invitation.

"Thank you, sir," He said, rising to his feet, "But I believe my mother needs me. I must go home. Goodnight."

Erin rose as well and clung to Jason's arm. "Jason, are you sure? What if she doesn't let you out again?"

"I doubt there's much else she can try," Jason said with good humor. Erin did not seem convinced.

"I still don't like it," she said.

"Erin, let him do as he pleases," Patrick said, walking over and putting his hand on Erin's shoulder. "It's his decision; we have to respect that."

Erin looked at her father and sighed. "Alright…Can I at least walk him out?"

"Of course."

Arm in arm, Jason and Erin walked out the front door and onto the porch, shutting the door behind them. Jason faced Erin and tried to look her in the face, but she turned away. After a couple of attempts, Jason used the tips of his fingers to tilt her chin towards him. He saw something wet trickle down her cheek.

"Erin," he said, wiping away the tear. "You're crying."

Erin turned away quickly and wiped at her eyes. "No…no, I'm not. I just…It's allergies. I'm fine."

Jason put both hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Erin, don't try to hide it. It's okay to cry, especially around me. I won't judge you. Besides, I will be back tomorrow. You'll see." He gazed at her glistening eyes. "Do you not trust me?"

Erin's eyes widened. "Of course I do! I trust you, Jason, fully! It's just that your mother…after all she has done, you're still going back to her? What if she does try to move you two again in the future? I would think you would …"

"Erin…" Jason chuckled, pulling her into a hug. "For the last time, I'll be fine. And just for the record…" He pulled away and held her face in his hands. "If my mother ever did try to move us away again, I wouldn't go with her, not for anything. She would have to drag me away from here, and even then I would not cease my struggle. I couldn't bear being taken away from you, not for anything in the world."

That really did it for Erin. She could not hold in her emotions any longer. She flung her arms around Jason and buried her face into his chest, sobbing enough to shake her entire body. She could not think of a time where she had ever cried so much. All the emotion from the last month had finally broken loose and was now soaking into Jason's shirt. Smiling, Jason wrapped his arms around Erin in comfort.

"I love you, Jason!" Erin sobbed, her voice muffled.

"I love you too, Erin."

After a few minutes of clinging to Jason, Erin released him. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before turning and walking down the steps and across the yard. Erin watched with bloodshot eyes as Jason walked across his yard, paused at his front door to look at her, then disappeared inside his house. Erin sniffed and walked back inside, hurrying to the bathroom to wash her face and clear any evidence of her breakdown. She walked back into the living room, where everyone was seated and waiting for her. She gave a fake smile and told them all she was tired and needed to go to bed. Erin said her goodnights and quickly went to her room, shutting the door and collapsing on her bed.

"Please, God," she prayed. "Please don't let Melinda take Jason away again. Please."

Jason closed his front door quietly, releasing the latch gently so as to not make a sound. He tiptoed to the living room entry and peaked around the corner. Melinda was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blue fleece blanket. Her eyes were red and swollen; she had obviously been crying. The television was on, but the volume was so low that it could scarcely be heard. She did not seem to be watching the TV, anyway – just staring into space.

Taking a deep breath, Jason walked into the room and stood by the couch. Melinda looked up, startled.

"Jason," she breathed, standing up and abandoning the blanket. "You…"

"Yes," Jason stated. "I came back."

"But…" Melinda was having trouble finding her words. "B-but why? I mean, I figured…"

Jason sighed and walked over to Melinda. He stood face to face with her, looking directly into her eyes. "I came back because I knew it was not right to leave things the way they were left." Melinda stared intently at Jason as he talked. "You are my mother, and I should give you the utmost respect, but I also ask for respect in return. I know that I hurt you, but you hurt me, as well, so we both owe eachother something." Jason took Melinda's trembling hand. "I forgiveness will not come easy for me, but if you give me a chance, I'll be willing to give you one as well. What do you say?"

Melinda was overwhelmed with emotion. She immediately threw her arms around Jason and cried. Jason held her for some time, stroking her back and letting her cry her heart out. Never had he thought he would be a shoulder to cry on for two women in one night. When Melinda had calmed down, she sat back on the couch and patted the seat next to her. Jason sat, and Melinda took his hands.

"Jason," she began. "I have to say that from the minute you were born, I was frightened – frightened of what society would do about someone like me giving birth to someone like you. Yes, I was afraid for your safety, but more than anything at the time, I was afraid for myself. I rejected you at first, but Carrie helped get me back on my feet, and I realized just how special you were. I loved you more than any mother could love a child, but I still kept you hidden. I had already paid the doctors and nurses not to tell a soul about your birth, and later I even told them you had died from unknown complications at home, just to cover my tracks." Melinda paused to wipe her eyes. "I convinced myself over the years that people would not accept you, so I had a reason to keep you hidden. It became increasingly hard, but I pushed through the guilt and kept my stubborn will that had plagued me for so long. So many lies were told, to you and to others." Melinda looked Jason in the eyes; another tear ran down her cheek. "Please forgive me, Jason…forgive me for all those years wasted. I see now that you are a responsible, trustworthy young man, and you really deserve to be out in the world. I can see now that there really are people like Erin and her family in the world, and those people can look beyond your face, beyond the mask, and see who you really are inside." Melinda smile and squeezed Jason's hand. "I love you, Jason…and I'm so, so sorry."

Jason felt tears in his eyes as he listened to his mother speak. She made her mistakes, but she was now willing to admit them and move on. Jason could feel that this would be a huge step in their relationship, and that things would be much better. Even after her speech, he was still upset inside, but his love for his mother was renewed, and he leaned forward and embraced her.

"I love you, mother," he said, a tear falling down his own cheek.

Melinda smiled and stood up. "I also want to show you something."

She left the room, coming back a few minutes later with a large album.

"I've never shown you these pictures before," she said, sitting back down and opening the book. "I figured it's only fair that you see them."

On the very first page, Jason immediately saw his father. The first few pages were filled with nothing but Matthew, Melinda, and occasionally Carrie. There were various pictures of friends and other relatives, but Jason did not notice them as he gazed at his father, so young and full of life. He wondered what he would be like or look like now, if he had lived. How would he have handled their current situation? Jason turned to about the sixth or seventh page, and he came across the same wedding picture that was on the ancestry website, plus many more like it. The very top of the page said 'Our Wedding.' One of the photos was of Matthew and Melinda standing at the altar, exchanging their vows. The next was of them slipping the rings on to each other's fingers. The below that was of them sharing a passionate kiss, sealing their marriage. There was only one page of their marriage; the next was random photos from different times in between their marriage and Matthew's death. One page was completely blank except for one photo. That photo was of Matthew's headstone, covered in flowers and cards.

Jason heard Melinda let out a shuddering sigh as she saw the picture, and he reached over to hold her hand. He knew how hard it must still be to have a loved one die, even if it had been over twenty-two years since. There were no more pictures on the next page, and Jason was about to close it when Melinda stopped him.

"Wait," she said, turning the empty page. "There's more."

Jason looked down at the page and laughed. There were his baby and toddler pictures, pictures he had not even known existed. Yes, he had seen pictures of himself as an infant and beyond, but his mother told him they only had one of each year. She had never told him about these.

"Carrie had taken these," Melinda said, smiling. "She took many pictures of you as you grew up, and they are all right here. I haven't even seen all of them."

Mother and son flipped through the remaining pages, laughing and pointing at certain pictures that they both remembered. One was with Jason and an "experiment" he had conducted in the kitchen when he was five, spaghetti sauce splattered all over the room and smothering his sheepish face. Melinda had not been home yet, but Carrie had found it so hilarious that she had to snap a picture before running for the spray cleaner and paper towels.

When they finished looking through the albums and sharing their accounts of stories behind certain pictures, they both stood and decided to call it a night.

"Hey, mother," Jason said before walking away. "So does this mean…I can see Erin and her family whenever I want now? I can go anywhere with them?"

Melinda smiled tiredly. "Of course, Jason. If spending time with that girl makes you happy, then go for it. All that matters to me now is your happiness, and I want you to make the most of it…to make up for lost time."

Jason smiled and gave his mother one last hug before they went their separate ways, Melinda upstairs and Jason downstairs, and turned out their lights. Jason lay back in his own warm bed and closed his eyes, a smile on his face. It seemed funny, but this room of his almost seemed foreign to him now. Because he was now technically free – a concept that was still hard to grasp and probably would be for quite some time – his room felt more like 'his room' and less like his confinement, or even his sanctuary. Yes, it would still be a private place to go to be by himself, but now it was one of many places for him to go and enjoy himself. Jason found it hard to go to sleep that night, for his excitement for the next day was overwhelming. Seeing Erin, the joy on her face when he came back, meeting her parents properly…Jason was overflowing with pure happiness for what the next day would hold in store for him.


	15. Everything Comes Together

Erin awoke the next morning, her vision blurred and the room dim from the frost on the window. She sat up and stretched her arms high above her head, groaning with the effort. She immediately fell backwards onto her pillow, her limbs now like jelly. She looked groggily at the alarm clock next to her bed, which read eight twenty-five. She sat up as straight as a pin. Jason would normally be here by now.

After a moment, she relaxed and rubbed her eyes. She did not want herself to get her hopes up, even if Jason did promise he would be back that day. She did trust him, more than anything, but she did not trust Melinda.

Erin went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, wrinkling her nose when she saw her thick, tangled mess of hair. She undressed and took a quick shower, then put on her robe and went back to her room to dress. She slipped on a pair of jeans and her pinkish purple top, the one she wore the day she met Jason. Erin combed her hair and left it down so it could dry, for she long ago gave up trying to put it up in her signature bun while it was wet. She hastened down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Rory was already up and about, making waffles in the toaster.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said, taking a waffle from the toaster with his finger tips. "You slept later than normal."

"Yesterday was pretty eventful, you know," she said, taking a seat at the table and pulling on her purple and white striped socks. "I didn't even realize how exhausted I was until after Jason left."

"Speaking of Jason…" Rory said. "He is coming over today, right? I mean, did he give you a time or anything?" Rory leaned against the counter and took a huge bite from the plain waffle in his hands.

Erin wrinkled her nose. "I don't see how you can eat those things plain! And as for Jason, he promised he would be over, but he didn't give a time." She propped her head up with her hand, her elbow resting on the table.

Rory swallowed. "I'm sure he'll be here eventually…do you think he'll still come in through the backyard?"

Erin creased her brow. "I don't know, actually. There is no reason for him to do that now, but he may do it anyway just from habit." Erin sat up and leaned against the back of her chair. "I just want him to show up in general, however he does it. That's all that matters to me."

Jason walked up to the kitchen, where his Melinda was sipping tea at the table, his mask in his hand. She looked up and smiled. "Well, someone is dressed nice and early. Considering the excitement yesterday, I thought you'd sleep much later than this. You were pretty worn out."

Jason shrugged. "I guess I'm just anxious to go. Erin seemed to have some doubt as to whether or not I would be back today…"

Melinda sighed. "She doesn't trust me, does she? I guess it's understandable. She gave me this look last night when her father and brother carried you back to the house. It was definitely one of distrust."

"Well, maybe you should come over with me today!" Jason suggested.

Melinda stopped mid sip and set her cup on the table. "Me? Visit? Oh, Jason, I don't know. This is really your first real day of being able to visit without sneaking around, and I'm afraid I'll ruin it…besides, I have to work!"

"Nonsense," Jason said as he took her hand. "You don't have to go in until ten o'clock, and I'll be right there with you. If I'm there to vouch for you, you will gain Erin's trust easily! What do you say?"

Melinda pondered for a moment, but still looked dubious when she spoke. "I really don't know...Maybe some other time?"

Jason sighed. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where I am. See you later." Jason leaned down and kissed Melinda on the cheek, then headed for the front door, pressing his mask to his face in the process.

Erin sat at her computer, lazily clicking through her emails once again. It had been quite some time since she had last checked her mail. She just did not feel the zest of discovery like she did when Jason was there with her. She would rather he be there for any exciting news that may happen to come from Cedrick. She moved junk mail after junk mail into her trash folder, wishing more than ever that she had a spam filter.

The doorbell rang. Erin hopped out of her chair and to the door to the computer room, leaning against the doorway and listening as Rory answered the front door. Could it be Jason? Erin could hear whoever it was talking, but Erin had to strain her ears to even recognize that it was even a person that was speaking. Either it was Jason telling Rory something secret, or whoever was down there was a very quiet talker.

"Sorry, but we're not interested," Rory could be heard saying, making Erin's hopes drop. "Thank you anyways."

The front door shut, and Rory was heard walking back towards the kitchen. Erin went back to the computer and flopped back into the chair. Clicking through more of her emails, she came across one from Cedrick, titled 'IMPORTANT.' A chill went up her spine as she hovered over the message with her cursor, but she let go of the mouse and leaned back, exhaling. She had to wait for Jason before she read whatever this was. Running her hands through her hair, she decided it was probably dry enough to put up. Before she could even stand to go to her room, Rory called up the stairs for her.

"Hey, Erin!" Rory called.

"Yeah?" Erin yelled back.

"I need your opinion on something!"

"Like what?"

"Well…it has to do with what kind of earrings I should get Mom for her birthday!"

"Mom's birthday is over three months away! Why do you need to know now?"

"Just come down!"

Erin groaned and stood up from the chair. She jogged down the stairs and into the living room, where Rory was standing with his arms crossed, a grin plastered on his face. Erin placed her hand on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "Okay…First of all, what kind of earrings do YOU think she would like?"

"Why don't you go into the kitchen and see the catalogs I picked out?"

Erin rolled her eyes and ruffled Rory's hair as she walked past him to the kitchen. When she stepped through the doorway, she saw not catalogs in the kitchen, but a person, dressed in a large brown jacket and grinning from ear to ear.

"Jason!"

Jason laughed aloud as Erin practically jumped into his arms, latching her arms around his neck and lifting her legs off of the linoleum floor.

"I told you I would come back," Jason said as Rory walked into the room, leaning against the doorway.

Erin giggled as she stepped back from the hug. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

"Well, now that this is all taken care of," Rory said, "I'm just gonna leave you two alone for awhile. I've got...a friend I'm going out for breakfast with today."

Erin smiled slyly at Rory. "You mean that cheerleader you were making goo-goo eyes at your last home game?"

Rory held up his hands in defense. "You caught me. Just don't cause any mischief while I'm gone, okay?"

Erin laughed and put her arm around Jason. "We won't…I promise."

Rory grabbed his coat and walked out of the kitchen and to the front door. He waved as he opened it and walked out, shutting it tightly behind him. Jason looked over at Erin and pinched a lock of her hair between his fingers. "I see you wore your hair down today. I've never seen it like that before."

Erin ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I was going to put it up while I was on the computer upstairs, but Rory called me down before I could." Erin muffled a laugh. "Jewelry catalogs? Is that the best he could come up with?"

Jason shrugged. "You have to admit it was a good attempt on his part."

"True." Erin grabbed Jason's hands. "I'm just so glad you're back! You have no idea how much I missed you…"

Jason leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers. "Probably not as much as I missed you."

Erin's heart was sent aflutter at his comment, and the corners of her mouth turned up in a silly grin. Never in a million years had she thought she would fall in love with Jason. She took a liking to him when she first met him, but she did not think for a second that their friendship would become something more. Right now, she did not remember it being possible that she had thought that way. Erin felt both their faces inching closer, the space between growing less, until the doorbell rang.

They froze, and then they pulled apart. Erin turned and quickly walked out of the kitchen and across the living room and to the front door, placing her hand on the brass knob. Before turning it, she glanced back at Jason in the kitchen, who had a somewhat disappointed look on his face. Erin smiled and tried to keep a giggle from escaping her throat, then she turned back towards the door. Should she tell him to hide? No, there was really no need for that now. Whoever saw him, saw him. His identity was free to be known now, and someone had to see him at some point – why not now? Erin took a deep breath and opened the door, almost forgetting to exhale when she saw the person standing on the porch.

"Hello, Erin," Melinda said with a nervous smile. "Is Jason around?"

Erin went rigid, her hand still gripping the doorknob. "Um…"

"Mother!" Jason came striding up to the door, a huge smile on his face. Erin started a bit at Jason's unexpectedly happy reaction to his mother, but she stood aside and let Jason greet her. "You came!"

"I did some thinking," Melinda said, walking inside, "and I figured it would be a good idea if I came…just for a short visit. And also…" She turned to Erin and smiled weakly. "I know we've already met, but I just wanted to make sure we really were on good terms after…well, what happened."

Erin looked at Jason, who nodded and smiled. Jason certainly trusted Melinda now, and they seemed to be on good terms. Erin still did not fully trust her of course, but for Jason's sake she figured she might as well try. Erin put her arm on Melinda's shoulder and smiled. "Yes, Mrs. Marcel. I believe we're on good terms."

Melinda clapped her hands together. "Oh, thank goodness! And please, call me Melinda."

Erin chuckled. "Alright, Melinda."

Jason wrapped his arm around both women. "Well, now that we're settled with that, how about we all sit down and visit for awhile?"

"Sounds good to me!" Erin said, taking Jason's arm and walking with him to the couch. A faint bell-like sound reached her ears just as they had a seat on the couch. It sounded like a sound her computer would make. It was coming from upstairs, so that must have been it.

Speaking of computer…

Her email!

Erin had completely forgotten about her message from Cedrick when she had come downstairs earlier. Now she jumped up from the couch, whipping around to face two confused people.

"Jason!" Erin cried. "I received an email from Cedrick this morning! I haven't read it yet because I wanted you to read it with me, but I completely forgot when you came!"

Jason stood abruptly, his eyes flashed distinctly with excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Melinda stood and tried to keep up with the two younger people as they jogged up the stairs. When they all entered the computer room, Melinda placed her hand on her chest and breathed heavily. She was older than and not as used to physical activity as Jason and Erin, so climbing the stairs so quickly left her breathless. "Do either of you mind explaining what is going on?"

Erin's head made a quarter turn. "My uncle is a genealogist, and we have asked him to research Jason's family tree to try and see if the Phantom of the Opera exists in it. We have gotten some interesting results from him so far, but nothing had been proved…yet." Erin clicked on her email inbox and scanned for the message. Melinda raised her thin, dark brows.

"You don't say…"

"Here it is!" Erin said as she clicked on the email. A short message popped up in the screen, followed by several documents.

Jason held his breath as Erin enlarged the letter:

'Dear Erin,

I have found more information regarding this 'Erik.' Even I, a skeptic in the beginning about this research project, was baffled by what I found. I continued research on the family history and life of the Madeline I found, and she proved to be the only possible link we had. Encouraged, I dug deeper, and found extremely intriguing evidence of your 'Phantom's' existence. Click the documents below to see for yourself.'

Jason and Erin were wide eyed and eager to see what exactly Cedrick had found, while Melinda just leaned forward curiously. Erin double-clicked on the first document, which popped up as an intricately detailed family tree. The names 'Madeline' and 'Nadia' were spotted immediately by Erin, along with a tree extending from Nadia all the way down to Jason's name at the bottom of the page. Jason was the first to notice that there was, in fact, a person said to be Madeline's child, but the only thing printed was the birth date and the word 'Child.'

"Well, it's not much," Erin said when she saw the document, "but it does bring us one step closer! I bet the other document have more."

Erin selected the second document, which was not a family tree, but a census record, written in fine, cursive French. The trio squinted at the screen to try to make out the names, and Erin was the first to point out, "There! I see Madeline!"

Her name was now clear as day when pointed out by a keen eye. Above it was the name 'Charles,' along with a French word, but neither Jason nor Erin knew what it meant.

"What does 'mari' mean?" Erin puzzled. "Is that supposed to mean he's married?"

"It means 'husband,'" Jason said.

Erin looked quizzically at Jason. "How do you know French?"

"I found a book of basic French in my attic," Jason explained, "plus some French/English dictionaries. They were my father's books, and I used to study them sometimes."

"Oh, that's cool!" Erin said.

The three looked down, and immediately they all saw the name written neatly and legibly underneath Madeline's name: 'Erik.' Jason felt his stomach to a summersault.

"That must be him!" Jason cried, pointing at the screen. "It has to be! What does that word next to it mean?"

Jason looked at the screen. "The word 'fils' means 'son!'

Erin squealed and flung her arms around Jason. "We've found him! I'm certain of it now!"

Melinda just looked at the screen. "So…this is supposed to be the Erik from the novel? This is really him?"

"I wouldn't see why it wouldn't be!" Erin said as she clicked on the third and final document with a shaky hand. "Let's see what this last one has to say. Oh, I'm so excited!"

An old newspaper clipping loaded onto the screen. It was clearly wrinkled, and the surrounding stories were virtually unreadable, but the one in the center was clear enough to read. The title read, 'LE FILS DÉFORMÉE DE LA VEUVE LOCALE TERRORISE VOISINS.' The rest of the story was completely in French.

"Jason," Erin said. "Can you decipher this?"

Jason rubbed his chin. "I can read part of it, but a lot of the words are unfamiliar to me."

"That's okay," Erin said, scrolling down the page. "My uncle actually put a translation at the bottom. Check this out."

In English, the article read:

'THE DEFORMED SON OF THE LOCAL WIDOW TERRORIZES NEIGHBORS

The son of Madeline Delacroix, a resident of Rouen and widow of the late Charles Delacroix, was seen in the yard of M. Guillory, a long-time resident of the town and local silversmith. Guillory was outdoors, tending his lawn, when the child walked up to him and demanded scrap metal of sorts. Frightened of the masked boy, he retreated indoors, only to have the child walk in through the back door, which had been securely locked beforehand. The house was ransacked, and the child parted with some of Guillory's silverware and a tin cup. The boy overturned tables and chairs in the process, and he also smashed a vase that had belonged to Mme Guillory. The poor man was found in tears and could scarcely speak until sometime later. Mme Delacroix is yet to be questioned of her son's behavior, but will likely be forced to take further cautions to ensure he does not escape the manor again.'

"Wow," Erin and Jason muttered in unison. This newspaper article amply verified Erik's existence. Erin exited the screen to go back to the email, where Cedrick had added one final note before closing his letter:

'I have taken the liberty of reading both Gaston Leroux's novel and Susan Kay's rendition, and the similarities between the two stories and the records I found are staggering. Who knows what other supposedly fictional novel characters exist somewhere in history? I wondered, after reading the article and records, why a child such as Erik would remain so anonymous and unacknowledged, but I have to assume that is another mystery altogether that will have to be researched at another time and in another place. Tell your friend Jason it was a joy to research this family tree of his, and that he is very blessed to have such a historic and interesting figure in his ancestry.

One last thing before I close this message: Whatever inspired Jason to go looking through his family tree for a story antagonist? Is there a specific reason that he did so? Please forgive me if that is a personal question; my curiosity, as you know, can get the best of me sometimes.

With love from your favorite uncle,

Cedrick'

Erin turned to Jason, who was in a light daze. She smiled and grasped his hands in hers. "What do you know? You ARE related to the Phantom of the Opera! Isn't this amazing? This could change everything everyone ever knew about Erik!"

"It's just…so surreal," Jason said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean…wow!"

Erin laughed and pulled him into a hug.

Jason smiled and encircled his arms around Erin. He immediately flushed and stepped back when he saw Melinda beaming at the two of them. Erin looked at Jason queerly, then looked at Melinda and immediately looked at the ground bashfully.

"Is there something I should know?" Melinda asked, an amused twinkle in her eye.

"Maybe…" Jason said, glancing at Erin, who looked up and pierced her lips to prevent a smile from escaping.

Melinda chuckled and shook her head. "I'd say you two have become closer than I originally thought, but no matter. I see you're happy that way." She gave them a wink.

Erin let her grin break loose and peered at Jason from the corner of her eyes. "I guess you could say that."

"I think we should change the subject since Jason is obviously embarrassed," Melinda laughed.

"Please?" Jason murmured. Laughing, the trio made their way downstairs.

Melinda chuckled and put her arm around her son. "So, I guess you were not the first of your kind, after all."

"And it will make things easier to explain once people start asking about why you wear the mask," Erin said. "Although, some probably won't believe us at first…but hey, at least we will know what we're talking about."

"Well, I believe I should be going," Melinda said. "I still have work, you know."

"You will come back over for dinner later, though," Erin said. "I insist."

Melinda smiled. "Of course."

And she kept her promise. At about six-thirty sharp, Melinda arrived at the front step of Erin's house once again. Mr. and Mrs. Carmody were both home by then and welcomed her in. Rory had invited his new girlfriend, Teresa, as well, so people were packed practically shoulder to shoulder at the dining room table. Patrick and Evelyn sat at each end of the table, while Jason sat in between Erin and Melinda on one side. Rory and Teresa were seated on the other. It was a meal full of introductions, stories, and laughs. The family immediately took a liking to Teresa, a junior cheerleader in college who planned on becoming an elementary school teacher. Teresa, surprisingly, did not seem intimidated or uncomfortable around Jason at all. She, like Erin, was mostly curious about Jason when she first laid eyes on him. Erin and Rory went ahead and explained to her his condition and how he received it, and her jaw dropped in amazement.

"I love the Phantom of the Opera!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes bright with interest. "I've only ever seen the musical, but I've heard so much about the book! Do you mean to say that the Phantom actually existed?"

"Yup," Erin said proudly.

"And Jason is his descendant?"

"Indirectly, but yes."

Teresa was brimming with questions now, asking how they found things out and digging deeper for details on the actual Erik. Mr. and Mrs. Carmody even chimed in, asking occasional questions. Jason and Melinda just sat back and watched, eyeing eachother with grins as the whole table bustled with talk concerning him. This discovery was pretty major, so they were going to have to get used to dumbstruck faces and incredulous questions. Teresa, trying to keep a certain question contained for fear it was too forward, could no longer keep it locked within her head. Clearing her throat, she asked, "So…what exactly do you look like, Jason?"

The table became awkwardly silent, and everyone turned to Jason. He swallowed nervously. Erin piped in, giving Teresa a polite smile.

"I'm sorry, Teresa, but I don't think Jason really feels comfortable taking off his mask in front of…"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so forward!" Teresa looked apologetically at Jason, who smiled back reassuringly.

"That's perfectly fine," Jason said. "I'm just really not sure how all of you would react to seeing me without my mask, especially at the dinner table…"

"Oh, nonsense!" Evelyn said. "We accept you for who you are; what's on the outside doesn't count!"

Everyone at the table nodded their agreement, and Jason felt Erin's hand close around his under the table. He felt somewhat better, but still a little self conscious as the curiosity of his face seemed to linger around everyone besides Melinda and Erin like fog, especially Teresa, who kept glancing up in between bites of steak.

After dinner, everyone took a seat in the living, the older adults sitting together and sipping coffee while the young adults mingled with eachother by the stairs. They had somehow gotten on to the subject of Ryan Lancaster and his trying to harm Erin.

"He always was such a jerk," Teresa said, tucking a strand of short, blond hair behind her double-pierced ear. She spoke to Erin. "You sure are lucky to have Jason around!"

Erin smiled and wrapped her arm around Jason's midsection. "I sure am." Erin looked up and noticed that Jason's mind seemed to be somewhere else. "Is something on your mind, Jason?"

Teresa gasped dramatically. "It wasn't what I said, was it? Oh gosh, Jason, I'm really sorry! It's just…my curiosity gets the best of me! I can't help myself sometimes!"

Jason laughed lightly and shook his head. "Really, Teresa, it's all right, I'm just…what you said kind of got me thinking…" He glanced at Erin. "It really doesn't make sense to hide from you guys. I mean, we're all friends now, right?"

"Exactly," Erin agreed. "And if it were up to me, you would never have to wear that mask, but I only want you to take it off if you feel comfortable." She paused and held up her finger. "Also, you will still need it when you go out in public."

"She's right," Rory said. "Not all people out there will be as accepting as we are, Jason, so you will certainly need your mask whenever you travel around. But here, you don't need to think twice about what people think."

Jason nodded and smiled. It was nice to have so much support, and to have the feeling of true acceptance for once in his life. He took a deep breath and reached up to his mask. He gripped the very edge of the mask, up by the forehead, with his fingertips. Slowly and carefully, he peeled away the mask, revealing his true image.

Teresa was silent for a moment, then nodded. "See, you don't even need the mask. I don't think it's bad at all."

"You think so?" Jason said, fingering his mask.

"Of course!" Teresa walked over and put an arm around him. "My feelings towards you haven't budged an inch!"

Just then, footsteps were heard coming from the other room, and Evelyn's voice called, "Kids, I think it's time for us to…" Evelyn, Patrick, and Melinda walked in and stopped abruptly when they saw Jason. The look on all their faces was one of surprise - and for Erin's parents, shock - and it was clear to see that Evelyn's face went a shade paler than it was before. Erin looked at her mother and sighed. She had forgotten that Evelyn could be quite squeamish at times, and she refused to watch horror movies because of how dark they were. Walking over, Erin put her arm around her mother and smiled. "Jason decided that he doesn't need his mask on around us anymore, mom. Isn't that great?"

Evelyn snapped out of it and put her hand to her chest. "Oh, yes…Of course…That's wonderful!" She still seemed a bit shaken by Jason's appearance. Jason turned his face away in embarrassment. Evelyn saw what an impact her reaction had on Jason and hurried her plump form over to him, placing her hand on his arm. "Oh dear, I'm sorry Jason. You must forgive me for my actions. I'll admit I was a bit startled, but believe me, that doesn't change my fondness of you one bit! Please, dear, turn around again."

Jason turned his head slightly first, gazing out of the corner of his eyes. He then turned his body and tried to stand straight and not appear shy. Patrick walked over and put his arm around Evelyn, and the couple smiled at Jason with warm acceptance. Melinda, from her spot in the doorway, was also beaming. Jason felt the corners of his mouth twitch a little as he stood and looked around at the people he knew cared about him. He looked at Erin, who gave him a thumbs-up. After a few seconds, Rory cleared his throat and put his arm around Teresa' waist.

"Well, I think I'd better take Teresa home now," he said. "Her parents said she had to be home by seven-thirty. See ya, Jason! Goodbye, Mrs. Marcel!"

Teresa waggled her fingers sweetly. "Bye, everyone! Nice to meet you all!"

Rory and Teresa walked to the front door, where Rory helped her into her coat. The others filtered in to say their goodbyes. Just as Jason walked through the doorway, Erin pulled him back into the kitchen.

"Hey," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry that turned out so awkward back there…Trust me, things will get better."

Jason grinned. "I know things will get better. In fact, they already have."

Erin grinned and cuddled up against him. "That's good."

"Jason!" Melinda called from the other room, causing the two to split apart. "We had better be leaving! Are you going to say your goodbyes?"

"I'll be right there!" Jason called over his shoulder. He turned back to Erin and, before she could say anything, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips to hers. Erin was dumbfounded, but she did not resist and let her eyes flutter closed. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and Jason quickly parted with Erin, still an inch from her face.

"Bye, Erin," he murmured.

"Bye…"

Jason left the room briskly, slipping on his mask to hide the pink tint in his cheeks. Erin walked unstably to the doorway and watched him thank her parents for the wonderful meal. Her fingertips brushed against her lips, and a smile crept upon them as Jason glanced her way and smiled one last time before walking out the door with Melinda.

Erin ran up to her room as her parents sat down on the couch to watch television and await Rory's return. She closed the door and leaned her back against it. She slid slowly down the smooth wood until her rear end hit the floor. Pressing a hand to her heart, she leaned her head against the door and sighed.

"Finally," she thought with a smile.

Jason went straight to his room when he arrived home. Shutting his door, and immediately fell onto his bed and flung his mask to the side. He sighed contently, a love-struck grin on his face. Never had anything felt so wonderful in all his life. He had heard of a first kiss being magical, but this far exceeded his expectations, especially since he had never before believed that he would fall in love with anybody.  
If perfect existed, this moment of his would be its definition.

Jason sat up and grabbed his copy of "The Phantom of the Opera," which was on his nightstand. He held it gingerly in his hands and smiled down at the title.

"Thanks, Erik," he whispered.


	16. TEMPORARY AUTHOR'S NOTE

**THIS POST IS TEMPORARY**

Hey guys! Sorry if I kinda weirded you out with posting a new chapter on a story that has been complete for…what, months now? Anywho, the reason is that I have a little announcement that I felt like sharing on Fanfiction.

As some of you who follow me or have seen me on know, I am doing a sequel for "Beyond the Mask." For those who didn't know, do not have a Deviantart account, or just don't know what the heck Deviantart even is….CONGRATULATIONS. You now know the news!

It is a long and tedious process, and it will take quite some time before I start posting chapters. Instead of posting as I finish like I did with my first story, I will be sure to have most of, if not at least half of the chapters done before I begin making them public. Most likely, I will start with Deviantart, since my fellow watchers on there were the first to know of the sequel, and I find it is only fair for them to have the first look.

I plan to begin typing during my Winter Break (Mid-December to early January), since that is where I will have the most free time to myself, most likely. The posting shouldn't take place until sometime next year, preferably before summer. I'm still in the process of sorting out a few details and smudges in the plot; I'm caught between two or three different scenarios in some places, so I'm trying to give myself plenty of time to work out all the kinks. I will have schoolwork the majority of the time, so that will definitely slow me down, but trust me when I say that this project is big on my list of artistic priorities, and I will be certain to squeeze it in and get my gears turning if I have any leftover free time.

Well, that's it! Some of you may have up and left this story or forgotten about it after I finished, but that's okay! I just felt obligated to let my readers know about the sequel in case they were interested, and this method was the only way I felt was fit for the occasion! If you have any questions or comments, please leave a review or send a private message to me, and I will be happy to enlighten you on any thought you may have! See you this Winter!

_-Flanny-chan _


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